Do you know how to say “Welcome to Rio” in Urdu? Or “Let me show you to your seat” in Hungarian. Or “Don’t forget your running spikes” in Swahili? If so, you may be perfect for a special squad of volunteers who will work at the Rio 2016 Games: the protocol and languages team.

Of the 70,000 volunteers who will be selected for the first Olympic and Paralympic Games in South America, these 8,000 linguistic specialists will have a unique mission: to be the voice of the Games. They will be responsible for translating the atmosphere of the Games into more than 30 languages, helping some of the most important visitors: the athletes and national delegations from more than 200 countries.

“Protocol and language volunteers have a vital function in terms of the general impression we send out about the Games, especially to the athletes, members of the Olympic Family and the media,” said Virgínia Garcia, Rio 2016’s interpretation services manager. “They will be the facilitators of our relationship with these people, and will contribute to everyone being able to communicate clearly and harmoniously. They will be the voice of Rio 2016 to the world.”

Interested in being part of this team? Find out more here.

Volunteers in the protocol and languages team will fill a variety of roles. In addition to acting as interpreters, volunteers will accompany athletes and delegation members for much of their time in Rio, such as on their arrival, during transportation between venues, in leisure areas and at their accommodation. Volunteers in this area will also help run activities such as press conferences, cultural programmes and competitions.

In order to participate, candidates must have advanced abilities in one of the following languages: English, Portuguese, French, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Hungarian, Arabic, Farsi, Thai, Romanian, Amharic, Swahili, Belarusian, Slovak, Turkish, Indonesian (Bahasa), Croatian, Czech, Lithuanian, Polish, Serbian, Urdu, Greek, Finnish and Filipino.

“Volunteers must feel comfortable speaking in public and communicating with different people,” said Garcia. “Some will help with the press, others may help in the medical area, in drug testing, at the Olympic Village... the opportunities are almost endless.”

Besides the rich cultural exchange and an opportunity to improve language and professional skills, the programme offers other benefits, such as a uniform, meals and transport during the event, certificate of participation and exclusive training, which includes one year of English classes.

Brazilian Igor Lafaeff volunteered in protocol and languages at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games and hopes to repeat the role at Rio 2016. “I have Russian heritage and learned Russian over two years and then realised my dream of participating in the Games in Sochi. It was an incredible experience – in addition to practising my new language, I was able to get to know my family’s culture.”

Candidates must be at least 18 years old by February 2016 and available during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Register for the Volunteer Programme here.