News Copacabana beach, one of Rio de Janeiro’s most celebrated locations and site of several Rio 2016 Olympic Games venues, today welcomed a striking symbol of the host city’s commitment to sustainability: a representation of the iconic Olympic rings made of recycled plastic bottles The three-metre high, six-metre wide sculpture will adorn the sands of Copacabana from now until the end of the Games, celebrating Rio’s role as host of the world’s largest sporting event Street artist creates giant mural in homage to Olympic Rings in Rio As well as raising awareness of recycling and environmentally responsible practices, the piece honours the Olympic spirit of unity amongst the nations and continents of the world, symbolised by the five interlocking rings The five colours of the rings were chosen because at least one of them is present in the flag of every country in the world Passersby posing with the new addition to Copacabana beach (Photo: Rio 2016/Daniel Ramalho) The Olympic rings artwork was designed by Elisa Brasil using a recycling technique to shred, heat and press the plastic Overall, 65kg of recycled material was used in the sculpture, and 20 people took part in the production process “I'm really glad that we're able to convey such an important message, reduce the use of disposable plastic, raise awareness of environmental protection and celebrate a world with cleaner waters,” said Ms Brasil "The biggest challenge was finding materials that combined the technical requirements of the International Olympic Committee together with the message of sustainability that we wanted to pass on " Brazilian artist Elisa Brasil (Photo: Rio 2016/Daniel Ramalho) The piece was commissioned by the city government, with the intention of using creativity and the positive impact of the Olympic Games to foster awareness of human impact on the natural world "We're combining art, education and sustainability, so that young people can understand just how much the planet is impacted by the waste we produce and some of the alternatives It's an intangible, yet very important legacy," said the president of the Municipal Olympic Company, Joaquim Monteiro "We also know that the Olympic rings will catch the eyes of cariocas and tourists and become one more attraction during Rio's celebration of the Games " Sure to be a hit on social media, the sculpture joins the Olympic rings at Madureira Park and the #CidadeOlímpica sculpture at Praça Mauá as an unmissable selfie op (Photo: Rio 2016/Daniel Ramalho) Getting into the spirit of the Games, Madureira Park unveils the Olympic rings Rio 2016 receives top global sustainability certificate for organisation of major events Find out more about the Olympic rings and other symbols of the movement here