Pellegrini leads Italy and opens the Games. "I am proud to be the Italian flag-bearer, a night to remember"

Lights, colours and emotions: the Maracanã is ready to celebrate, history is made. The "five rings" give South America a special embrace for the very first time. Raise the curtain, spotlights on, flashes light up a stadium which expresses an informal solemnity that could charm anyone: Rio is transformed into a sparkling festival, the smiles of the athletes widen hearts across the world, and not only the sporting one. This is how the XXXI edition of the Summer Olympics begins. Using a striking and linear script: images of the ocean, the beach, the distinctive features of a festive land which is never banal, inspiring, reflecting the wonders of its nature while at the same time not forgetting the problems and poverty. It is the genesis, the beginning of everything: describes Brazil, the Carioca tradition that opens up to the world, Christ the Redeemer who spreads his arms upon the Earth and the continents which the Olympic movement aims to unite, crossing every barrier. It is the meaning of sport which unites, a universal language that acts as a wrecking ball and knocks down every wall. It is a 5th August to write in the record books: original floral carts that announce the entry of the 207 participating Nations onto the track. Greece is first up, symbolic and quintessential home of the Games, where the movement started.

It is a frenetic and entertaining parade of alternating kits designed to leave a mark, to win the gold medal for style. Italy, guided by the Team Head Carlo Mornati, enters at 9:52 pm local time (02:53 am in Italy) led by Federica Pellegrini, the Divine, enshrouded in a contagious enthusiasm (GMT-photo by Mezzelani).It is an incredible sign of fate that this unique and inimitable day coincides with her 28th birthday: it was written in the folds of a beautiful book, the autobiography of a champion who has enjoyed collecting World and European Championship medals as well as an Olympic gold medal in trophy cabinet, carving her way through the pool using her unmistakable trademark freestyle. Federica smiles, waving the "tricolour" as the 102nd country steps onto the track, before the eyes of the enchanted CONI president Giovanni Malagò, the Secretary General, Roberto Fabbricini, the President of the Organising Committee of Rome 2024, Luca di Montezemolo, and a special supporter who is accompanying the "Azzurri" during these hours of feverish anticipation: Prime minister Matteo Renzi.

Spontaneous applause, the elegant blue EA7 kit doesn't go unnoticed nor do the attention-grabbing red, white and green shoes. "I am proud to be the team's flag-bearer, it's a great honour. "We will give it our all", she recalls while more than 150 "azzurri" parade alongside her, reigniting the ambition which sees us as the fifth most successful nation of all time at the summer and winter Olympics. The "tricolour tide" will be involved in 20 events: rowing, badminton, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, golf, gymnastics, weightlifting, judo, swimming, diving, women's water polo and tennis teams, archery, skeet shooting, sailing, the two volleyball teams and a beach volleyball delegation. The second part of the ceremony was taken up by official speeches, the formal welcome from IOC President, Thomas Bach, the canonical oaths, the surprise of the last torchbearer, Vanderlei Lima, the marathon runner famous for being blocked by a spectator in the street, the day Baldini won gold in Athens 2004. The flame has been lit, the challenge is on. Make the Games your own.

Changes in IOC Executive Board with seven new Members and two new Vice Presidents

Two new IOC Vice-Presidents were elected along with seven new Members on the Executive Board at the 129th IOC Session ahead of the Olympic Games Rio 2016.
Juan Antonio Samaranch (ESP) and Ugur Erdener (TUR) will replace outgoing Vice-Presidents Nawal El Moutawakel (MAR) and Sir Craig Reedie (GBR). Five new and returning Members will also be joining the Executive Board: Gian Franco Kasper (SUI), Angela Ruggiero (USA), Sergey Bubka (UKR), Ser Miang Ng (SIN), and Willi Kaltschmitt (GUA). Ching-Kuo Wu and Patrick Hickey are resuming their seats as representatives of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) and the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) respectively. The new Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission, Angela Ruggiero, replaces outgoing Chair Claudia Bokel, following the elections earlier this week. The newly composed EB will begin its work after the Olympic Games Rio 2016.

In a presentation by the Chair of the IOC Members Election Commission, HRH the Princess Royal, it was reported that the Commission has devised a new procedure for the recruitment of IOC Members based on the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendations. The new approach aims at targeting new members with the skills and experience needed by the IOC, and includes integrity checks by the IOC Ethics Commission.
Following a proposal from the Executive Board, eight new IOC Members were elected at the 129th IOC Session ahead of the Olympic Games Rio 2016: Nita Ambani (IND); Sari Essayah (FIN); Ivo Ferriani (ITA); Luis Moreno (COL); Auvita Rapilla (PNG); Anant Singh (RSA); Tricia Smith (CAN); and Karl Stoss (AUT).
The newly-elected Members represent a cross-section of expertise from the worlds of sport, culture, medicine, sociology, business, law and management. Gender equality is guaranteed with four women and four men on the list.

Seventeen Members were re-elected en bloc: Anita DeFrantz (USA), HRH The Princess Royal (GBR), Richard Carrión (PUR), Nat Indrapana (THA), Denis Oswald (SUI), IOC President Thomas Bach (GER), Mario Pescante (ITA), Gerhard Heiberg (NOR), Robin Mitchell (FIJ), Alex GILADY (ISR), Sam Ramsamy (RSA), Ung Chang (PRK), Guy Drut (FRA), Samih Moudallal (SYR), Zaiqing Yu (CHN), Sergey Bubka (UKR), and Ugur Erdener (TUR).
The addition of the new Members brings the total number of IOC Members to 98. More proposals are due for the IOC Session in Lima in 2017 after elections in certain International Summer Sports Federations and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) following the Olympic Games Rio 2016, in consultation with the respective stakeholders.

Italian men's team pursuit permitted to take part in the Games. 314 Italian athletes in Rio

The number of Italian athletes at the Rio 2016 Games grows again. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), in fact, under the principle of "target number," has added the Italian team of Filippo Ganna, Simone Consonni, Liam Bertazzo and Francesco Lamon to the men's team pursuit on the track. With Michele Scartezzini selected as a reserve. The number of Italian athletes qualified for the Brazilian Games now stands at 314 (170 men and 144 women).

Laura Giombini replaces Viktoria Orsi Toth, who will team up with Marta Menegatti

Laura Giombini is the athlete summoned to replace Viktoria Orsi Toth, suspended to the Rio Games after been found positive to tests by NADO Italy. The 27 year old from Perugia will team up with Marta Menegatti for the Olympic tournament in women's beach volleyball. The two Italian athletes will debut at the Games on the 7th August (10pm) against the Canadian team, Broder and Valjas.

Malagò and Renzi inaugurate Casa Italia, "the most beautiful yet". The Prime Minister: proud of our identity

The President of the Council of Ministers Matteo Renzi has entered Casa Italia in Rio de Janeiro. Accompanied by the President of CONI, Giovanni Malago, and the General Secretary, Roberto Fabbricini, along with the Italian Members of the IOC and the President of the Organising Committee of Rome 2024, Luca di Montezemolo, the Prime Minister inaugurated the magnificent facility of the Costa Brava Club which overlooks the sea between Barra da Tijuca and Sao Conrado.

"It is the most beautiful Casa Italia ever" underlined Malagò, during a ceremony that was attended by several members of the IOC, the Presidents of many Olympic Committees, the leaders of International Federations and Italian Sports Federations, the CEO of Coni Servizi, Alberto Miglietta, as well as numerous members of the Olympic family and various institutional representatives.

Team Italy was represented by the Head of the Rio Delegation, the Deputy General Secretary of CONI, Carlo Mornati, and a delegation of the women's foil team, including Olympic champion Elisa Di Francisca, along with ambassadors Lucchetta, Chechi, Myers, Rossi and Rosolino.

Malagò proudly highlighted the evening's events. "This facility represents and embodies the excellence of Made in Italy and we are proud to inaugurate it with President Renzi, who has always supported us. Casa Italia encapsulates sport, art and culture all in the name of innovation. While respecting the rules of the IOC and fellow candidates, Budapest, Los Angeles and Paris, we are here to stress the seriousness of our bid for the 2024 Olympic Games. But now it is time to think about Rio 2016: on Saturday the race for Italy's 200th gold medal at the Summer Olympics begins. It would be nice to win it in front of the Prime Minister ", who replied that he will only be in Rio on Saturday 7th August: so - he concluded - you have to do it fast".

Renzi then recalled that "this is a special night for us, because we can share the Games' values of peace and respect. At school they used to tell us wars would call a ceasefire during the Olympic Games. Now that is no longer the case, so a moment of brotherhood is needed. Let's not lose our identity, which also includes sport. We must work together in order not to lose our identity and maintain our values, and sport is one of the main. More than ever, today I have felt proud and the passion to be Italian. I'm here to support our athletes".

The Premier Renzi attended the Welcome Ceremony at the Olympic Village

The Barra Olympic Village welcomes the Italia team. Tomorrow morning, the Welcome Ceremony took place in the international area of the venue dedicated to athletes. This symbolic act comes to certify the installation of the mission within the Village: a particularly colourful moment, preceding the ceremony for the opening of the Games and based on the exchange of official gifts and messages of encouragement.

The Italian delegation was addressed by a very special guest, Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and was led by the President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò. Luca di Montezemolo, President of the Committee for the Promotion of Rome 2024, was also attended. Athletes was led by flagbearer Federica Pellegrini, who arrived two days ago in Barra after the swimming team gathering that took place in Santos.

Italian party at the Olympic Village, Renzi at the Welcome Ceremony for Italy. "The athletes are ready, I hope to celebrate our 200th gold at the Summer Olympics"

The Barra Olympic Village has welcomed the Italian Team. The joyful Welcome Ceremony was held this morning in the international zone of the venue dedicated to athletes. It is a symbolic act that officially confirms the arrival of the team at the Village. The Italian team, tightly packed around the flag bearer Federica Pellegrini, was led by the Head of the Delegation and Deputy General Secretary of CONI, Carlo Mornati. The delegation was greeted by a special guest, Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, who wanted to demonstrate the Government's affinity with the Italian athletes, accompanied by the President of CONI, Giovanni Malagò and General Secretary, Roberto Fabbricini. "It is time to think about the competition and be united, proud of our flag. I've seen in the athletes the desire to show just how important and amazing this occasion is. We believe that the important thing is to take part but also to win, so we're all ready to cheer on the team. Alongside this is the cultural and heritage value: sport as a moment of growth for people. I believe this is the important message that our champions will be able to deliver in these games", underlined the Premier, who proudly wore the EA7 branded Italian kit accompanied by Mameli's Italian national anthem, after having exchanged a few affectionate joke with various athletes, and giving them sincere encouragement for the competition ahead.

Italy's flag was raised along with those of Andorra, the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, Portugal and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "I hope this experience will become an unforgettable event for all of you," the message of the Mayor of the Village, former basketball player Janeth Arcain, who exchanged a customary gift with representatives from the nations. "I'm here to support the athletes," reaffirmed Prime Minister Renzi who also expressed his thoughts on tomorrow night's opening ceremony. "The choice of Federica Pellegrini is fantastic and well-deserved. She is the Queen. She is majestic, we have also seen her in form and I'm happy. The fact that she is the flag bearer is the due recognition to one of the greatest athletes in the history of Italian sport, who, in my opinion, still has a lot more to give and we will find out in these games". The Premier then went on to talk about personal memories linked to the Olympics. "The first Olympics that I followed were those of 1984. I wasn't old enough - I was five - to witness Pietro Mennea and Sara Simeoni. The first Olympic event that I followed from start to finish, on television of course, was the 10,000 m with Alberto Cova in Los Angeles. Then there was Alessandro Andrei in the shot put, Gabriella Dorio in the 1500 metres. Now I hope to celebrate with you Italy's 200th gold at the Summer Olympics".

IOC approves five new sports for Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today agreed to add baseball/softball, karate, skateboard, sports climbing and surfing to the sports programme for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

The decision by the 129th IOC Session in Rio de Janeiro was the most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic programme in modern history. Plans call for staging the skateboarding and sports climbing events in temporary venues installed in urban settings, marking a historic step in bringing the Games to young people and reflecting the trend of urbanisation of sport.

The Organising Committee for the Tokyo 2020 Games proposed the five new sports in response to the new flexibility provided by Olympic Agenda 2020.

Today’s vote was the culmination of a two-year process that began with the unanimous approval of the IOC’s strategic roadmap in 2014. The recommendation to give Organising Committees the flexibility to propose new sports for their edition of the Games was intended to put even more focus on innovation, flexibility and youth in the development Olympic programme.

Tokyo 2020, the first Organising Committee able to take advantage of the change, submitted its proposal for the five new sports to the IOC in September 2015.

IOC President Thomas Bach said, “We want to take sport to the youth. With the many options that young people have, we cannot expect any more that they will come automatically to us. We have to go to them. Tokyo 2020’s balanced proposal fulfils all of the goals of the Olympic Agenda 2020 recommendation that allowed it. Taken together, the five sports are an innovative combination of established and emerging, youth-focused events that are popular in Japan and will add to the legacy of the Tokyo Games.”

Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said, “The inclusion of the package of new sports will afford young athletes the chance of a lifetime to realise their dreams of competing in the Olympic Games – the world's greatest sporting stage – and inspire them to achieve their best, both in sport and in life.” 

The additional sports in Tokyo will not impact the athlete or event quotas of existing Olympic sports or be binding on future host cities. The current athlete and event quotas are unaffected.

The IOC considered a variety of factors when assessing the proposal, including the impact on gender equality, the youth appeal of the sports and the legacy value of adding them to the Tokyo Games.

The inclusion of the new sports will add 18 events and 474 athletes, with equal numbers of women and men for all sports except baseball/softball, which will have the same number of teams but different player totals, because softball teams have 15 players whilst baseball teams have 24. Tokyo 2020 will rely heavily on existing and temporary venues to stage the competitions.

Discussions on the event programme in the existing 28 Olympic sports for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 are ongoing, and will be finalised by the IOC Executive Board in mid-2017.

Today friendly match between Blengini’s Italian team and Egypt

The Italian male volleyball team warms up its engines before the Olympic Games, and in the afternoon will take part in the second and last closed-door friendly match in Rio de Janeiro. The Italian team, which drew 2-2 with Russia on Sunday, will face Egypt at 04:00 pm in the Tijuca Tenis Clube premises. The match is also closed-doors, but access is allowed to media accredited for the Olympic Games.

Today flagbearer Federica Pellegrini lands in Rio with the Italian swimming team

The Italian Team Flagbearer, Federica Pellegrini, lands in Rio de Janeiro. The Olympic champion, already in Brazil with the other members of the Italian swimming team, is leaving Santos today, where it did its last group training, and will reach the site of the Olympic Games in the early afternoon.
Ilaria Bianchi, Silvia Di Pietro, Erika Ferraioli, Sara Franceschi, Luca Marin, Aglaia Pezzato, Andrea Toniato, Luisa Trombetti and Federico Turrini will arrive in Rio alongside the Italian team flagbearer.
The other Italian team swimmers will instead stay in Santos a day longer and will discover the atmosphere of the Village only from tomorrow.