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The Olympic torch will arrive in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday (3 August) on a yacht steered by an elite crew of seven Olympic medal-winning sailors from Brazil, as it heads towards the Maracanã and the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games

It will take the yacht around one hour to sail across Guanabara Bay from the commuter town of Niterói to an historic naval base in Rio de Janeiro

The evocative journey pays homage to Rio's maritime beginnings and to Brazil's strong tradition in sailing – the sport in which the country has won most Olympic medals

Among the crew will be sailing legend Torben Grael, who has won a total of five medals (two gold), more than any other Brazilian athlete

To open the final chapter in the torch's epic 20,000km journey across Brazil, the sailors will hand over the symbol of the Olympic Games to Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro

Paes will be the first torchbearer in the city

Other torchbearers will come from all across carioca society and will include sports students, waste collectors, theatre directors and waiters

On its first day in Rio, the relay will cross the historic centre of the former Brazilian capital and witness at first hand the transformation that this region is undergoing as a result of the Olympic Games

The torch will ride on the brand-new tram system and visit the renovated Municipal Theatre, one of Rio's most recognisable and beloved buildings

The torch will end the day by visiting underprivileged suburbs of Rio, spending the night in Nova Iguaçu

The torch will take a ride on the VLT, the high-tech tram that has transformed the face of downtown Rio (Photo: Riotur/Alexandre Macieira) Road to the Maracanã On Thursday, which will be a city-wide public holiday in Rio, the relay will visit the Olympic zones of Barra da Tijuca and Deodoro in the west of Rio, as well as famous tourist areas such as Ipanema and Copacabana

At the very western edge of the city, on idyllic, semi-deserted Macumba beach, surfer Rico Souza will be one of the chosen torchbearers

Other Brazilian sports heroes to carry the torch will include world football champions Cafu, Carlos Alberto Parreira and Mário Zagallo

This being Rio, legends of samba will also be participating in Thursday's party, which will culminate in the lighting of a special cauldron in Praça Mauá in the renovated waterfront district

The party will last long into the night in southern Rio de Janeiro on Thursday (Photo: Riotur/Alexandre Macieira) On Friday, the 95th and very last day of the relay, the Olympic Torch will make its highly anticipated journey to visit the world-famous statue of Christ the Redeemer

The torch will be blessed by the Archbishop of Rio before continuing its journey around central and southern Rio, during which it will make what should be a memorable cable car ride up Sugarloaf Mountain, another of Rio's most celebrated landmarks

The torch will vist beautiful Sugarloaf Mountain on the last day of the relay (Photo: Riotur/Alexandre Macieira) From there, it will be off to what promises to be a spectacular opening ceremony in the legendary Maracanã stadium, where the torch will be used to light the Olympic cauldron that will burn bright in Rio de Janeiro until the ending of the Games on Sunday 21 August