2016 Summer Paralympics
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) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by =
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Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...
, cauldron =
Clodoaldo Silva Clodoaldo Silva (born 1 February 1979) is a Brazilian Paralympic swimmer. He competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, winning three silver medals and one bronze. He competed again at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where he s ...
, events = 528 in 22
sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
, stadium = Maracanã , summer_prev =
London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
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Sochi 2014 , ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'') , nations = 88 , events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , athletes = 2,873 , opening = 7 February 2014 , closing = 23 February 2014 , opened_by = President Vladimir Putin , cauldron = , stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
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Pyeongchang 2018 , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 (1,680 men and 1,242 women) , events = 102 in 7 sports (15 disciplines) , opening = , closing = , opened_by = President Moon Jae-in , cauldron = Kim Yun-a , stadium = Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium , wi ...
The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international
multi-sport event A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...
for athletes with disabilities governed by the
International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...
, held in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
, Brazil, from 7 to 18 September 2016. The Games marked the first time a Latin American and South American city hosted the event, the second Southern Hemisphere city and nation, the first one being the 2000 Summer Paralympics in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, and also the first time a
Lusophone Lusophones ( pt, Lusófonos) are ethnic group, peoples that speak Portuguese language, Portuguese as a native language, native or as common second language and nations where Portuguese features prominently in society. Comprising an estimated 270 m ...
(Portuguese-speaking) country hosted the event. These Games saw the introduction of two new sports to the Paralympic program:
canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
and the
paratriathlon Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon (TRI) (formerly known as ITU), and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, ...
. The lead-up to these Paralympics were met with financial shortcomings attributed to tepid sponsor interest and ticket sales, which resulted in cuts to volunteer staffing and transport, the re-location of events and the partial deconstruction of the Deodoro venue cluster. However, ticket sales began to increase as the Games drew nearer, and over two million tickets were sold in total—overtaking
Beijing 2008 The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...
as the second-most-attended Paralympic Games on record. A refugee Paralympic team was hosted for the first time, featuring two refugees from Iran and Syria respectively. For the fourth consecutive Summer Paralympics,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
topped the medal table, winning 107 gold medals, followed by
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
and
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, while Georgia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam won their first ever Paralympic gold medals. For the first time in Paralympic history, and the first time in the Olympics or Paralympics since 1960, an athlete—Iranian cyclist
Bahman Golbarnezhad Bahman Golbarnezhad ( fa, بهمن گلبارنژاد, 12 June 1968 – 17 September 2016) was an Iranian Paralympic racing cyclist competing in C4 classification events and an earlier powerlifter. During his powerlifting career, he won twelve ...
—died during competition.


Bidding process

As part of a formal agreement between the
International Paralympic Committee The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; german: Internationales Paralympisches Komitee) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and fun ...
and the
International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
first established in 2001, the winner of the bid for the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
was also to host the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Following the third and final round of voting at the 121st IOC Session in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
on 2 October 2009, the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were awarded to Rio de Janeiro.


Development and preparation

The 2007
Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
and
Parapan American Games The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American G ...
in Rio de Janeiro marked the first time that the Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games were hosted as parallel events in the same host city; Rio's organization of the two events helped provide the city with experience in hosting multi-sport events, and Paralympic sporting events. Andrew Parsons, president of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, remarked that the organizing teams responsible for the Olympics and Paralympics were maintaining a good relationship and "speaking the same language" in relation to their organizational duties. Parsons praised how well-organized the 2012 Summer Paralympics were, and felt that his team had learned lessons from London that could be applied in Rio.


Venues

As had been common practice since the Olympics and Paralympics began to formally share host cities, the Paralympics' venues were shared with those of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Barra da Tijuca Barra da Tijuca () (usually known as Barra) is an upper-class neighborhood or bairro in the Rio de Janeiro#West Zone, West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, located in the western portion of the city on the Atlantic Ocean. Barra is well known for it ...
hosted most of the venues, with the remainder located in
Copacabana Beach Copacabana () is a ''bairro'' (neighbourhood) located in the South Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is most prominently known for its 4 km (2.5 miles) balneario beach, which is one of the most famous in the wor ...
, Maracanã and Deodoro. Barra da Tijuca also housed the athletes' village.


Barra cluster

*
Carioca Arena 1 Carioca Arena 1 (Portuguese: ''Arena Carioca 1'') is an indoor stadium in Barra da Tijuca in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The venue hosted basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics as well as wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby a ...
– Wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby *
Carioca Arena 2 Carioca Arena 2 (Portuguese: ''Arena Carioca 2'') is an indoor stadium in Barra da Tijuca in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The venue hosted judo at the 2016 Summer Olympics, judo and wrestling at the 2016 Summer Olympics as well as bocci ...
– Boccia *
Carioca Arena 3 Carioca Arena 3 (Portuguese: ''Arena Carioca 3'') is an indoor stadium in Barra da Tijuca in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The venue hosted taekwondo at the 2016 Summer Olympics, taekwondo and fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics, fencin ...
– Judo, wheelchair fencing *
Future Arena The Future Arena (Portuguese: Arena do Futuro) was a temporary sporting venue in Barra da Tijuca, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that was used for handball at the 2016 Summer Olympics, volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics and goalball ...
– Goalball *
Olympic Aquatics Stadium The Olympic Aquatics Stadium ( pt, Estádio Aquático Olímpico) was a temporary aquatics center in the Barra Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro. The venue hosted the Swimming at the 2016 Summer Olympics, swimming events, Synchronized swimming at t ...
– Swimming * Olympic Tennis Centre – 5-a-side football, wheelchair tennis * Pontal Beach – Road cycling *
Riocentro Riocentro is an exhibition and convention center located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Built in 1977, it is the largest exhibition center in Latin America. Notable events 1981 May Day attack On April 30, 1981, during a May Day music concert, Rio ...
– Powerlifting, Sitting volleyball, table tennis *
Rio Olympic Arena Jeunesse Arena is an indoor multi-purpose arena, located in the region of Barra da Tijuca, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is named for the American cosmetics company Jeunesse Global through a naming rights deal closed in 2017. Before, the spons ...
– Wheelchair basketball *
Rio Olympic Velodrome The Rio Olympic Velodrome, officially the Velódromo Municipal do Rio (''Rio Municipal Velodrome''), is a velodrome located in the Barra Olympic Park sports complex in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Built as a replacement for the former Barra Velodr ...
– Track cycling


Deodoro cluster

*
National Shooting Center The National Shooting Center, known as the Olympic Shooting Centre during the 2016 Summer Olympics, is a firing range in Deodoro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The range was opened in 2007 and was upgraded to host the shooting (sport), sports shooting e ...
– shooting *
National Equestrian Center The National Equestrian Center, known as the Olympic Equestrian Centre during the 2016 Summer Olympics, is an equestrian venue located at the Deodoro Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The venue hosted the equestrian events for the 2016 Sum ...
– equestrian *
Deodoro Stadium Deodoro Stadium is a temporary stadium at Deodoro Modern Pentathlon Park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stadium hosted rugby sevens and modern pentathlon events during the 2016 Summer Olympics. The stadium served as the venue for the seven-a ...
– 7-a-side football


Maracanã cluster

*
Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium ( pt, Estádio do Maracanã, standard Brazilian Portuguese: , local pronunciation: ), officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho (), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stadium is part o ...
– opening and closing ceremonies * Estádio Olímpico João Havelange – athletics (track and field) *
Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí The Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí is a purpose-built parade area built for the Rio Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The venue is also known as Passarela Professor Darcy Ribeiro or simply the Sambódromo in Portuguese or Sambadrome in English ...
– archery


Copacabana cluster

*
Fort Copacabana Fort Copacabana ( pt, Forte de Copacabana, ) is a military base at the south end of the beach that defines the district of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. The base is open to the public and contains the ''Museu Histórico do Exército'' (Army Historic ...
– Athletics, Triathlon and Road Cycling *
Marina da Glória Marina da Glória is a marina located in the neighbourhood of Glória in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This venue hosted the sailing events for the 2016 Summer Olympics within the Flamengo Park cluster, from 7 to 19 August 2016. and the 2016 Summer P ...
– sailing *
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon (Portuguese: ''Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas'') is a lagoon in the district of Lagoa in the Zona Sul (South Zone) area of Rio de Janeiro. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing sea water to enter by a ca ...
– canoeing and rowing


Medals

The medal design for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled on 14 June 2016; they were produced by the Casa da Moeda do Brasil. The bronze and silver medals contain 30% recycled materials, while the gold medals were produced using gold that had been mined and extracted using means that met a series of sustainability criteria, such as being extracted without the use of mercury. The obverse of the Paralympic medals feature the Paralympic emblem and an inscription in
braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are Blindness, blind, Deafblindness, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on Paper embossing, embossed paper ...
, while each medal contains differing numbers of metal balls to allow the visually impaired to audibly distinguish their color by shaking them. They are accompanied by a wooden carrying box, and a plush toy of Paralympic mascot Tom with hair leaves that match the medal's color.


Ticketing

The initial financial shortcomings of the 2016 Paralympics were primarily attributed to slow ticket sales and poor public interest, despite the cheapest tickets only costing roughly a quarter of those for the Olympics. During the Olympics, organizers stated that only 12% of an original target of 3.3 million tickets had been sold. By early September, only half of the tickets to medal events had been sold. On 23 August 2016, Greg Nugent, who was head of marketing of the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
and 2012 Summer Paralympics, began a campaign on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
known as "#FillTheSeats", encouraging users to donate money to supply local youth and people with disabilities with tickets to the Paralympics. Nugent began the campaign after noticing the large number of empty seats at competition venues during the 2016 Summer Olympics. Following endorsements of the campaign by prominent figures, such as British band
Coldplay Coldplay are a British rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer Will Champion and creative director Phil Harvey. They met at University Col ...
(which performed the
closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.
in 2012), it raised over US$15,000 by 30 August. On 31 August 2016, the IPC and the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee announced that it would officially back the #FillTheSeats campaign, and set a new goal of $300,000—which the IPC said could be used to fund the distribution of 10,000 tickets, along with food and transport, for the opening ceremony to Brazilian scholars and disabled peoples. As part of a revised ticketing strategy, the organizers set a new target of 2.4 million tickets, with the cheapest tickets costing R$10 (US$3) each. Ticketing director Donovan Ferreti told ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' that a "last-minute" demand for tickets had begun to develop in the final days before the opening ceremony. He explained that the tickets were "really affordable" and "cheaper than going to see a movie", and would allow spectators to "have a great time with high-performance competition and have a great day out in the Olympic Park." The low cost of tickets helped to attract attendees to the Paralympics—especially families, while athletes praised the large and energetic crowds that resulted. On the third day of the Games, the IPC announced that at least 1.8 million tickets had been sold—surpassing the 1.7 million of the
2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...
in Beijing as the second-largest Paralympics in terms of ticket sales. The next day, Barra Olympic Park had a total attendance of 167,675, marking its largest overall attendance across a single day of competition during either the Olympics or Paralympics (the Olympics only reached a peak of around 157,000). On 14 September, the IPC announced that sales had exceeded 2 million.


Torch relay

The Paralympic torch relay began with five individual flames being relayed to a city in each of the five
regions of Brazil Brazil is geopolitically divided into five regions (also called macroregions), by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, which are formed by the federative units of Brazil. Although officially recognized, the division is merely ac ...
. These flames, as well as a sixth flame lit in
Stoke Mandeville Stoke Mandeville is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It is located three miles (4.9 km) from Aylesbury and 3.4 miles (5.5 km) from the market town of Wendover. Although a separate civil p ...
,
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, were united to form a single Paralympic flame, which was relayed through Rio on 6 and 7 September 2016 en route to its lighting at the Maracanã during the opening ceremony.


Route


Marketing


Emblem

The official emblem for the 2016 Summer Paralympics was designed by the Brazilian agency Tatíl Design, and unveiled on 26 November 2011 during the Christmas tree lighting at the
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon (Portuguese: ''Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas'') is a lagoon in the district of Lagoa in the Zona Sul (South Zone) area of Rio de Janeiro. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing sea water to enter by a ca ...
. It consists of a
heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...
incorporating the
infinity symbol The infinity symbol (\infty) is a mathematical symbol representing the concept of infinity. This symbol is also called a lemniscate, after the lemniscate curves of a similar shape studied in algebraic geometry, or "lazy eight", in the terminol ...
, representing a beating heart and an "infinite energy to overcome obstacles". IPC president
Philip Craven Sir Philip Lee Craven (born 4 July 1950) is an English sports administrator, former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, swimmer and track and field athlete. Between 2001 and 2017 he was the second president of the International Paralymp ...
described the emblem as symbolizing the "heart" of athletes, who were the "heart" of the Paralympic movement. As with the Olympic emblem, the Paralympic emblem was designed so that it could also be rendered in two- and three-dimensional versions, such as a sculpture that was used during the unveiling.


Mascot

The official mascots of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics were unveiled on 24 November 2014, with their respective names, Vinicius and Tom, chosen via a public vote whose results were announced on 14 December 2014. The Paralympic mascot, Tom, is named after Brazilian musician
Tom Jobim Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...
; it represents Brazilian
flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
and "is always growing and overcoming obstacles." The mascots' fictional backstories state that they were both born from the joy of Brazilians after it was announced that Rio would host the Games. Brand director Beth Lula stated that the mascots are intended to reflect the diversity of Brazil's culture and people.


The Games


Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics took place on the evening of 7 September 2016 at
Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium ( pt, Estádio do Maracanã, standard Brazilian Portuguese: , local pronunciation: ), officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho (), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stadium is part o ...
, which was also Brazilian Independence Day. With the theme "Todo Mundo tem um Coração" ("Everybody Has a Heart"), the artistic portions of the ceremony featured sequences themed around inclusivity and the culture of Brazil. The segment "Beyond Vision" was created by computation artist and designer Marcelo Coelho with projections by Muti Randolph. During the parade of nations, a Belarusian official carried a Russian flag alongside his delegation as solidarity towards the IPC's decision to ban Russia from the Games. In the wake of ongoing protests over political instability in Brazil, spectators also booed organizing committee head
Carlos Arthur Nuzman Carlos Arthur Nuzman (born 17 March 1942) is a Brazilian lawyer and former volleyball player, having competed professionally from 1957 to 1972 and represented the Brazil men's national volleyball team, national team between 1962 and 1968. Nuzman ...
after he thanked local governments for their role in organizing the Games, and President
Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...
whilst he opened the Games, in response to the recent
impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...
of former president
Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first w ...
. In an opening speech, IPC president
Philip Craven Sir Philip Lee Craven (born 4 July 1950) is an English sports administrator, former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, swimmer and track and field athlete. Between 2001 and 2017 he was the second president of the International Paralymp ...
invited viewers to "see the true meaning of sport and the true definition of ability", explaining that "in a country which has faced major challenges of late, Paralympians will switch your focus from perceived limitations, to a world full of possibility and endless opportunity. They will surprise you, inspire and excite you, but most of all they will change you." The Paralympic cauldron was lit by legendary Brazilian para-swimmer
Clodoaldo Silva Clodoaldo Silva (born 1 February 1979) is a Brazilian Paralympic swimmer. He competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, winning three silver medals and one bronze. He competed again at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, where he s ...
.


Participating nations

4,342 athletes representing 159
National Paralympic Committee A National Paralympic Committee (NPC) is a national constituent of the worldwide Paralympic movement. Subject to the controls of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), NPCs are responsible for organizing their people's participation in the ...
s competed in Rio. The number of athletes sent by each nation is shown beside its name. This is also the first Summer Paralympics event where Russia is not participating, owing to the doping allegations.
Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of ...
, Congo,
Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...
,
São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe (; pt, São Tomé e Príncipe (); English: " Saint Thomas and Prince"), officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe ( pt, República Democrática de São Tomé e Príncipe), is a Portuguese-speaking i ...
,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, and
Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...
made their debut in the Summer Paralympics. The IPC unanimously voted to ban
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
athletes from the 2016 Summer Paralympics in response to the discovery of a state-sponsored doping program. On 5 August 2016, the IPC announced that it would field a team of refugee athletes known as the Independent Paralympic Athletes Team, which competed under the Paralympic flag. The 2016 Summer Olympics similarly featured a team of 10 refugee athletes. On 26 August 2016, the IPC announced the two members of the refugee team: swimmer Ibrahim Al Hussein of Syria (50 and 100 metre Freestyle S10), and Shahrad Nasajpour of Iran (F37 Discus).


Number of athletes by National Paralympic Committees (by highest to lowest)


Sports

Events in 22 sports were contested at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
Canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...
and
paratriathlon Para triathlon is a variant of the triathlon for athletes with a physical disability. The sport is governed by World Triathlon (TRI) (formerly known as ITU), and was first held as a Paralympic event at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, ...
made their Paralympic debut in Rio. *
Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
() *
Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
() *
Boccia Boccia ( ) is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name "boccia" is derived from the Latin word for "boss" – '. The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes ...
() *
Paracanoe Paracanoe is canoeing for athletes with a range of physical disabilities. The Paralympic version of the sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF), and a va'a-specific variant is governed by the International Va'a Federation (IVF ...
() *
Cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from t ...
() **
Road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
** Track *
Equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...
() *
Football 5-a-side Paralympic football consists of adaptations of the sport of association football for athletes with a physical disability. These sports are typically played using International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) rules, with modifications to ...
() * Football 7-a-side at the Summer Paralympics, Football 7-a-side () * Goalball at the Summer Paralympics, Goalball () * Judo at the Summer Paralympics, Judo () * Paratriathlon at the Summer Paralympics, Paratriathlon () * Powerlifting at the Summer Paralympics, Powerlifting () * Rowing at the Summer Paralympics, Rowing () * Sailing at the Summer Paralympics, Sailing () * Shooting at the Summer Paralympics, Shooting () * Swimming at the Summer Paralympics, Swimming () * Table tennis at the Summer Paralympics, Table tennis () * Volleyball at the Summer Paralympics, Volleyball () * Wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics, Wheelchair basketball () * Wheelchair fencing at the Summer Paralympics, Wheelchair fencing () * Wheelchair rugby at the Summer Paralympics, Wheelchair rugby () * Wheelchair tennis at the Summer Paralympics, Wheelchair tennis ()


Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Paralympics took place on the evening of 18 September 2016 at the
Maracanã Stadium Maracanã Stadium ( pt, Estádio do Maracanã, standard Brazilian Portuguese: , local pronunciation: ), officially named Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho (), is an association football stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The stadium is part o ...
. The cultural program of the ceremony was a concert featuring performances by an array of mainstream Music of Brazil, Brazilian musicians, headlined by Ivete Sangalo and Gaby Amarantos. British singer Calum Scott joined Sangalo to perform "Transformar", the official promotional song of the Games. It also featured a cultural presentation by Tokyo, host of the 2020 Summer Paralympics IPC president
Philip Craven Sir Philip Lee Craven (born 4 July 1950) is an English sports administrator, former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, swimmer and track and field athlete. Between 2001 and 2017 he was the second president of the International Paralymp ...
led a moment of silence for Iranian cyclist
Bahman Golbarnezhad Bahman Golbarnezhad ( fa, بهمن گلبارنژاد, 12 June 1968 – 17 September 2016) was an Iranian Paralympic racing cyclist competing in C4 classification events and an earlier powerlifter. During his powerlifting career, he won twelve ...
(who was killed the day before in a road cycling accident), stating that his death had "affected us all and left the whole Paralympic Movement united in grief." Craven went on to praise Brazil's reception to the Games and the overall performances of athletes, stating that people "were in awe at what you could do and forgot about what they believed you could not. You showed to the world that with a positive attitude the human body, and above all the human heart and mind, knows no limits and absolutely anything is possible." Craven also announced that he would bestow the Paralympic Order—the IPC's highest honour, on the people of Brazil and Rio de Janeiro for their "outstanding support" of the Paralympics.


Calendar


Medal table


Podium Sweeps


Records


Broadcasting

On 24 August 2016, the IPC announced that Dailymotion would serve as the official online streaming partner for the 2016 Summer Paralympics, offering 15 English-language streaming channels with full broadcasts of athletics, cycling, football, judo, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball, wheelchair fencing, wheelchair rugby and wheelchair tennis events, as well as the ceremonies, highlights from all events, news programmes, and other original content. In total, the IPC stated that around 680 hours of content would be streamed over the 11-day event, with at least 72 hours per-day. Television rights were also sold to individual countries: Grupo Globo held rights in Brazil, with coverage shown on Rede Globo and SporTV. Globo also sublicensed over-the-air rights to the public network TV Brasil. In the United Kingdom, Channel 4 broadcast the Games as its second Summer Paralympics, promising 500 hours of coverage. As a follow-up to its "Meet the Superhumans" trailer for the 2012 Paralympics, Channel 4 produced a trailer entitled "We're the Superhumans", which would win a Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Cannes Lions Grand Prix for film. In Australia, the Seven Network held rights, complementing a new long-term rights deal for the Olympics. Seven plans to broadcast 14 hours per-day of coverage on television. Coverage was primarily broadcast by its digital channel 7Two and Seven's digital platforms, as well as a Paralympics-specific app. In Canada, CBC Olympic broadcasts, CBC, Sportsnet One and AMI-tv held broadcast rights, promoting 1000 hours of coverage in total on television and the CBC Sports website. CBC Television aired the ceremonies, a nightly recap show, and afternoon and evening coverage blocks on weekends. In Latin America (except Brazil), Claro Americas, Claro Sports, ESPN Latin America, ESPN and Fox Sports (Latin America), Fox Sports held the rights broadcast the 2016 Summer Paralympics. NBC Olympic broadcasts, NBC acquired the rights to the 2014 and 2016 Paralympics in September 2013. NBC planned extensive coverage for both games, capitalizing on its newly acquired status of an official Paralympic broadcaster in the United States. In Sweden, state broadcaster Sveriges Television, SVT broadcast the Games, planning 300 hours of coverage on television and digital platforms, as well as a nightly highlights show. In Poland, state broadcaster Telewizja Polska, TVP broadcast the games for the first time. In New Zealand, Attitude (TV series), Attitude Pictures and Television New Zealand partnered to broadcast 180 hours of live and delayed television coverage, plus on-demand highlights through their respective digital platforms.


Concerns and controversies


Budget cuts

The budget of the 2016 Summer Paralympics faced several rounds of cuts, although the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee did not provide specific details on the deficits. In mid-August 2016, it was reported that the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee had failed to timely deliver US$8 million in travel grants that were intended to be paid out at the end of July. Without these grants, National Paralympic Committees may have had to cover a larger share of the cost of transporting their athletes to the Games, while some (particularly those in African and Asian regions) might not have been able to afford sending their athletes to Rio at all. On 15 August 2016, a spokesperson for the organizing committee credited the financial issues to the political climate making it harder to reach sponsorship deals, as well as ticket sales being below expectations. However, the spokesperson noted that the ongoing Olympics were helping to attract interest from potential sponsors. The ROC stated that it planned to deliver the money by the end of the month and that there was "no intention" to "compromise the Paralympic experience". Mayor of Rio Eduardo Paes offered to provide US$47 million in funding to the Games to address these shortcomings, but a Federal courts of Brazil, federal court blocked the further provision of public funding to the ROC pending the inspection of its financial records. IPC president
Philip Craven Sir Philip Lee Craven (born 4 July 1950) is an English sports administrator, former Paralympic wheelchair basketball player, swimmer and track and field athlete. Between 2001 and 2017 he was the second president of the International Paralymp ...
stated that "although the situation is pretty precarious, rumours that the Games may not go ahead or that sports may be cut are totally unfounded and not true. Our aim right now is to bring in additional funding and resources in order to deliver the Games at the service levels expected by all stakeholders, most importantly the athletes", and "if no more funding is available then the Organising Committee's additional cuts will start to impact on the services offered to the athletes who have dedicated years of their lives to reach and compete at these Games. This is the last thing that we want to do." On 19 August 2016, the IPC stated that the organising committee had made infrastructural reductions for the Games as a budgetary measure, including reducing the amount of transport services and the number of media centres, moving the wheelchair fencing events from Youth Arena to
Carioca Arena 3 Carioca Arena 3 (Portuguese: ''Arena Carioca 3'') is an indoor stadium in Barra da Tijuca in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The venue hosted taekwondo at the 2016 Summer Olympics, taekwondo and fencing at the 2016 Summer Olympics, fencin ...
, as well as closing and dismantling Deodoro Olympic Park so that the remaining venues in the cluster can act as "three standalone venues with dedicated transport hubs." Some public parties and gatherings related to the Games were also cancelled. Of these changes, Craven stated that "it's in our Paralympic DNA to see obstacles as an opportunity to do things differently and that's what we are doing here. We are problem solvers by nature and fight for what we believe in", and iterated that he was "fully confident Rio 2016 will be the best Games ever in terms of athletic performance." Craven explained that "We want full participation here. We want all eligible countries to send their athletes to the Games. It's what the athletes deserve, and it is what the athletes want after years of training and dedication." The injunction was lifted on 18 August 2016, resulting in Paes offering Brazilian real, R$150 million in public money to fund the Games. R$100 million worth of sponsorship deals were also reached with the federal government via state-run enterprises. The funding was eventually delivered, ensuring that all 165 delegations would be able to attend the Games.


Death of road cyclist

On 17 September 2016, during the men's C4-5 Cycling at the 2016 Summer Paralympics, road cycling event, Iranian cyclist Bahman Golbarnejhad crashed on a "mountainous stretch" of the circuit in Grumari; after being treated on site for head injuries, he experienced cardiac arrest during ambulance transport. Golbarnejhad died at Unimed Rio hospital after another cardiac arrest. This marked the first instance of a Olympic deaths, death in Paralympic competition, and the first death in an Olympic or Paralympic competition since that of Danish cyclist Knud Enemark Jensen at a time trial in the 1960 Summer Olympics. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announced that it would investigate the incident, and the I. R. Iran National Paralympic Committee requested a report on the incident from the IPC. IPC president Philip Craven expressed condolences for Golbarnezhad, stating that "the Paralympic Family is united in grief at this horrendous tragedy which casts a shadow over what have been great Paralympic Games here in Rio." The Iranian and Paralympic flags in the athletes' village were flown at half-mast, as well as the Paralympic flag at Riocentro. A moment of silence was observed during the closing ceremony.


See also

* 2015 Parapan American Games *
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...
* Rising Phoenix, documentary about the Paralympic movement that covers the financial difficulties of the 2016 Paralympic Games


References


External links


Rio de Janeiro 2016 Official Homepage

Rio de Janeiro 2016 from the International Paralympic Committee
{{Authority control 2016 Summer Paralympics, Summer Paralympic Games 2016 in multi-sport events, Summer Paralympics International sports competitions in Rio de Janeiro (city) Multi-sport events in Brazil, ParaLympic 2016 in Brazilian sport, Paralympic Games September 2016 sports events in South America, Summer Paralympics 2010s in Rio de Janeiro