Instead of watching the HD images on TV, Valéria Carneiro and Tatiana Zanon, like many other sport fans, would rather wander through a host city.

Tatiana has been following the Olympic Games editions since Athens 2004, while Valéria started in Sydney 2000.

“It is a unique sensation. During the Games there are no differences, no wars.  There is rivalry and competitiveness, but also a sense of peace, joy and many surprises. Winning means more than climbing to the podium; it means a collective victory.  During the Games, you are among the best athletes, present and future sport myths.  Watching the Olympic Games has become indispensable for me, adds Tatiana.

Valéria also recalls some difficult moments while she was around the world’s top athletes. “Some feelings are only possible during the Games: the emotion and pride of witnessing your country winning the  gold, the feeling of union among different nations, the pride of waiving your flag on the streets and the sadness when your team is defeated”, she says.

The paulista explains that her love for the Games comes from the wish to represent Brazil in the Games. “Since I was 12, I have this wish to participate in the Games as a volleyball player. I did not manage to do it, but when I entered university I decided that after I started working I would be able to watch the Games as spectator. In 2000, my dream came true, and this has become a habit since then”, says Vitória.

History Spectators

Like Tatiana, Valéria says that one of the main catalysts for the Games’ spectators is the pleasure of watching the athletes making history.  The future sport talents are also a source of inspiration for Olympic fans.

London’s “Inspire a Generation” slogan is wonderful. In Athens I watched a tennis match for the first time, and was delighted to see Gustavo Kuerten playing. Guga inspired an entire generation of new tennis players”, says carioca Tatiana.

Valéria was thrilled to watch the Brazilian athletes winning the male volleyball gold medal also in Athens 2004,  which she considers to be a milestone in the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Watching the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sidney was really special. It was my debut as a Games spectator, and I as very moved.  I also felt moved by the male volleyball finals in Athens.  I have no words to describe how I felt when the volleyball team won the gold, the paulista recalls.  At that occasion, Brazil defeated Italy 3-1.

Tatiana Zanon at Beijing 2008 (Photo: Archive)

Looking forward to Rio 2016™

As Olympic Sport fans, Valéria and Tatiana have high expectations on the staging of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Brazil. They want them to be the best.

“I hope Rio gathers the best elements of the past four Games. I expect a beautiful Olympic Park, accessible ticket prices, good transportation systems and that Brazilians are taken by the Olympic sense of union. This will be a unique opportunity, and the eyes of the world will move to Rio de Janeiro. I believe people will spread this feeling around and I will be able to feel the same way I felt in Sidney”, the paulista underscores.

The carioca hopes that the city will be taken by the passion that moves athletes and sport fans.

“Rio conveys ‘Passion and Transformation’, and I hope to see this passion reflected in every detail, in the city and during the Games. I expect a transformation in our reality of joyful and brave people.  The city is being renovated, and Rio 2016 will leave an ever-lasting legacy to cariocas, Brazilians and international visitors”, says Tatiana.