When the French director Marcel Camus took the classic Greek tale of Orpheus and Eurydice to a Brazilian favela in the late 1950s, he created a film that would not only beguile Barack Obama and his mother, but would make a little bit of Olympic history.
GAMES
Seb Coe’s “dark days” receding as his IAAF renewal gains traction
Sebastian Coe accomplished many things as an athlete, but his defining moment came at the 1980 Moscow Games when his expected victory in the 800m turned into one of the worst experiences of his sporting life; he responded by winning the 1500m that was supposed to have been property of Steve Ovett.
Rio Olympics 2016: Global exposure as golf's Games return proves a big hit
Golf made a triumphant return to the Olympics at Rio following a 112-year absence and the sport's bosses are confident it has done enough to secure its Olympic status beyond the Tokyo 2020.
All events will be evaluated next year to decide whether they will be included after the next Games in Japan and, with so many top players choosing to stay away from the men's competition in Rio, there were fears golf would not survive.
Mike Rowbottom: What’s wrong with “marvellous”? Rio 2016 sign off
It rained on Rio 2016’s final parade in the Maracanã tonight. The elements drove in, just as a perfect storm of economic and political crises has buffeted the high hopes of those who danced in delight as they were awarded the Games of the XXI Olympiad seven years ago at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Copenhagen.
FAIR PLAY AWARDS RECOGNISE TRUE OLYMPIC CHAMPIONS IN SPORTSMANSHIP
THE OLYMPIC GAMES ARE ABOUT MORE THAN THE WIN, THE MEDALS OR THE RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCES. AT THEIR CORE, THE GAMES ARE ABOUT THE OLYMPIC VALUES OF EXCELLENCE, FRIENDSHIP AND RESPECT. THEY ARE ABOUT FAIR PLAY AND HUMAN SPIRIT.
Rio 2016 declared "marvellous" as Olympics close with samba celebration in pouring rain and facing power problems
South America's first Olympic Games was declared over in pouring rain here tonight, but also in a blaze of colour, vibrancy and samba-dancing as Brazil came together to celebrate an event which had been a "great challenge, but a great success", according to its chief organiser.