Go inside the Rio 2016 Olympic Games venues... without leaving your armchair
For the first time in Olympic history, fans can view arenas from an athlete's standpoint thanks to partnership with Google Street View
Google Street View operator Marcus Leal approaches the Olympic Tennis Centre with a ‘Trekker’ (Photo: Google)
Can’t wait for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games? Dying to get a look inside the venues where the world’s best athletes will go for gold this August? Well, now you can – and from the comfort of your home – thanks to a pioneering partnership between Rio 2016 and Google.
For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, fans will be able to ‘enter’ the venues via Google Street View and get a 360-degree view of the stadiums, arenas and pools where the likes of Usain Bolt, LeBron James and Michael Phelps will do their stuff.
“Street View gives users a unique chance to see the venues from the same perspective that athletes will have during the Games,” said Rio 2016 communications director Adriana Garcia.
Google uses state-of-the-art portable technology to gather the imagery in locations only accessible on foot. The ‘Trekker’ is a 18kg backpack fitted with 15 sophisticated cameras that is carried around the venues by a technician. The Street View Trolley, mainly used for navigating inside buildings, fits all the necessary recording equipment onto a push-trolley mounted with a camera system.
A Google worker uses the Trekker to photograph the Olympic BMX Centre (Photo: Rio 2016)
While Google Street View provided the same service for stadiums used in the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil, this is the first time Olympic venues have been systematically catalogued.
The Olympic Aquatics Stadium in Barra Olympic Park, as seen on Google Street View
The project began in the second half of 2015 and more than 20 sporting venues have already been mapped, photographed and uploaded. By the time the Games begin in August, the aim is to have all 37 venues (32 in Rio plus five in the football co-host cities) uploaded for public viewing.
Find out which sports will take place in which venues
There were some perks to the job, such as this view of Leblon beach
The venues below can now all be explored on Google Street View.
1) Maracanã
2) Sambódromo
3) Olympic Stadium
4) Lagoa Stadium
5) Fort Copacabana
6) Youth Arena
7) Olympic Shooting Centre
8) Olympic Equestrian Centre
9) Olympic BMX Centre
10) Mountain Bike Centre
11) Whitewater Stadium
12) Olympic Hockey Centre
13) Olympic Golf Course
14) Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre
15) Future Arena
16) Olympic Aquatics Stadium
17) Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador
18) Mané Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia
19) Amazônia Arena in Manaus
20) Mineirão in Belo Horizonte
21) Corinthians Arena in São Paulo
