The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games offer a unique opportunity for artists and sportspeople who want to showcase their work to a global audience. The organising committee’s sport presentation department is looking for people who want to show off their talent during competition intervals. Singers, musical bands, jugglers, capoeira groups, cheerleaders and other types of performers, from Brazil and other countries, can apply to be part of the greatest show on Earth.

It’s easy to apply…

Rio 2016 expects to bring together around 1,600 candidates, who should email links to YouTube videos showing their performances to entretenimento@rio2016.com. The successful candidates will receive a contribution towards the cost of their meals and transport to Olympic arenas, where they will have the opportunity to present their art to the world during the Games and put an amazing experience on their CV.

Who can participate?

The main requirement is that you are aged 18 or over. Rio 2016 wants candidates like Vivien Elisângela Vajda, a 21-year-old jump rope artist. What to many people might seem like a simple children’s game is a profession to her. She has been doing the sport for 10 years, including five years spent representing Brazil in international competitions. Born in Hungary (her father is Hungarian and her mother is Brazilian), Vajda became interested in jump rope by pure chance.

“I learned how to skate at the age of nine because of my father’s influence, but later on we moved somewhere without an ice rink so I couldn’t carry on. When I watched a jump rope performance, I liked it,” says the athlete, who has now been living with her family in the Lake Region of Rio de Janeiro state for two years.

Check out a video of Vivien Vjda in action:

Vajda has won nine world championships and often goes abroad to give courses and put on shows with Chinese members of the International Jump Rope Group, considered the best in the world. In 2012, she performed at the London Games and she hopes to have the same opportunity in Rio. “I can perform alone, but I think it would be really great if we could do a group performance, and I have several Japanese and Chinese friends who are interested. It will be an honour to participate and help raise the profile of my sport,” she says.

Rio 2016 is looking for performance groups like this:

Christy Nicolay, Rio 2016’s head of sport presentation, said: “We want to show Brazil and Brazilian culture, so the more local groups, the better. We are open to all kinds of artists: hip-hop dancers, samba artists, capoeira players, all kinds of percussionists, actors and even people who merely want to be part of our ‘Free Hug’ team.”

The Rio 2016 sport presentation team has already received emails from various groups in Brazil and other countries, expressing interest in participating. To take part, email a link to a YouTube video showing your performance to entretenimento@rio2016.com.