Rio 2016 / Daniel RamalhoWith the 2016 Rio Olympics slated to kick off Friday with the opening ceremony, there is a lot of excitement across the globe.
Teams from all over the world will compete in various different sports to take home coveted gold medals, and while the athletes are in Brazil swimming, tumbling, running and more, viewers back home will be cheering them on as they race across their TV screens.
While statistics and rosters are great to know ahead of time, we thought it would be fun to give you some fun facts to relay (pun totally intended) to your friends during commercial breaks or other moments of down time.
Here are five fast facts about the Olympics to get you excited for Friday's kick off event:
1. Rio de Janeiro is the first city in South America to host the Olympics. They'll run from Aug. 5-Aug. 21, 2016, but Olympic soccer tournament begins Aug. 3.
2. Did you know the Olympics has a mascot? The 2016 Olympic Games mascot is Vinicius, a bright-yellow catlike figure that also has elements of monkeys and birds. The name pays tribute to Brazilian musician Vinicius de Moraes.
3. This year there are two "new" Olympic sports: golf and rugby sevens. They're considered "new" because they've both been part of past Olympic games, but not in many years. Rugby returns after 92 years, while golf makes a comeback after 112 years.
4. The slogan for these Olympic games is, "Viva sua paixão," which translated into English means "Live your passion."
5. There are four venue clusters: Barra, Copacabana, Deodoro and Maracana. The Olympic Park, which features multiple venues, is in Barra. The Copacabana zone will feature sporting events such as beach volleyball, the triathlon, rowing and sailing, while Deodoro features equestrian, shooting and rugby sevens. Other events, including the Olympic ceremonies, will be staged in Maracana Stadium.