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The most iconic symbol of the Olympic Games is decorating the city for the Rio 2016 Games. City Hall has installed giant Olympic Rings in Madureira Park, ahead of the largest sporting event in the world. The monument was inaugurated today. Mayor Eduardo Paes joined the ceremony, together with the president of the Coordination Commission for the Rio 2016 Games from the International Olympic Committee, Nawal el Moutawakel, and the president of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman.

The choice of Madureira Park as the 鈥渉ome鈥� of the Olympic Rings complies with the Municipality鈥檚 concept of integrating the whole city with the Games. 鈥淭he Olympic Games are for the people of Rio de Janeiro and it is important that residents feel they are a fundamental part of this movement which is transforming the city. Madureira is in the heart of the suburbs, where our identity was created, and is in one of the poorest regions of the city where the Games have had a great affect鈥�, Mayor Eduardo Paes says. Since it was inaugurated, in 2012, the park has attracted thousands of people and has become a new leisure and sports option in that region of the city. The Park will be home to one of the three Live Sites, organized by City Hall, free of charge for the public, to follow the Olympic competitions. The other ones will be at Porto Maravilha and the Mi茅cimo da Silva Sports Centre, in Campo Grande.

The Olympic Rings were installed near the Park鈥檚 waterfall. The structure is particularly impressive because of its size. It was built in aluminium, weighs 4 tonnes, and is 25 metres long and 12 metres high, the equivalent of a 4-storey building.

The symbol, which represents the union of the five continents, was donated by the United Kingdom. The rings decorated the Tyne Bridge, in Newcastle, one of the football host-cities for the 2012 London Olympic Games. It is the first time such a donation has taken place.

In order to bring them to Rio, the City Government, through the Municipal Olympic Company, enabled their transport by ship, with the support of the Brazilian Navy. The trip took 20 days, between January and February this year. After arriving in Brazil, the rings underwent some small repairs before they were installed in Madureira Park.

The president of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, celebrated the rings鈥� arrival to the city, which will welcome around 15 thousand athletes from more than 200 countries during the Olympic Games. 鈥淭he Rings are the largest representation of the Olympic Movement and are amongst the most recognizable symbols of the world, being immediately associated with the Games. It is a great opportunity and push for Rio de Janeiro to get into the mood of the memorable 2016 Games鈥�.

Alex Ellis, British Ambassador to Brazil, affirms that the gift will seal a growing partnership between the two countries in recent years. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been flirting with the Olympic Games in Rio for a long time and now we are giving to the city, and to Brazil, our commitment rings鈥�, jokes the diplomat. 鈥淲e are confident of the success of the Rio 2016 Games and want to be part of its story鈥�, he concludes.

The Newcastle City Council leader, Nick Forbes, added: 鈥淣ewcastle is extremely proud to be able to donate our Olympic rings to our friends in Rio. It is a gesture of friendship across the world, and connects people who may never meet but who now will share a common bond. Rio and Newcastle are both big sporting cities, and the Olympic Games embodies the power that sport has to bring people together.鈥�