News In a little over one year, Rio de Janeiro will host athletes and fans from more than 200 countries for the first edition of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in South America But organising competitions in 65 sports is not the only challenge that the organising committee has taken on Culture, too, will form a part of the biggest sporting event on the planet Baptised Celebra (Celebrate), the Rio 2016 culture programme will produce artistic interventions throughout the city, with free, open-air activities in various disciplines – music, visual arts, literature, theatre, dance and pop art The first events are already planned for this August, to celebrate the one-year-until-the-Games milestone “Culture is what defines a country It is what differentiates the places that host the Games,” said Carla Camurati, Rio 2016’s culture director With the aim of “humanising urban space”, the central idea of the programme is to surprise the local population and tourists with short cultural performances in streets, squares, parks and beaches across Rio With the collaboration of an expert team – including Nelson Motta, Vik Muniz, Sérgio Bloch, Antônio Urano, Carlito Azevedo, Luiz Antonio Simas and Breno Silveira – the programme will comprise initiatives such as a gastronomy street festival, a sports film exhibition, urban installations and interventions using visual arts and literature, a musical that will tell the story of the host city in songs, a digital platform with a timeline of Brazilian culture, and the official film of the Rio 2016 Games  Flashmobs, music shows and dance also promise to invigorate the daily life of the city, while booths will be erected to encourage the appreciation of Brazilian music and portable bookshelves will distribute literary classics on public transport Circus and theatre performances will surprise passengers on buses, trains and boats “The whole city will be transformed into a live performance, a great stage for our cultural diversity,” said Camurati “We are uniting forces with the city, state and federal governments ”The Rio 2016 culture team will also curate the show for the one-year-to-go celebrations this August, which will be part of the Olympic City Cultural Marathon, promoted by the Rio city government in partnership with the state and federal governments It will have an extensive programme in theatres, cultural centres, museums and public parks across Rio Culture has played a part in the Olympics since the Stockholm 1912 Games, when artistic activities were promoted in the lead up to the event After successful experiences during the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, it is expected that the Rio 2016 Games will be a catalyst for various initiatives in the areas of education, culture and tourism in Brazil  The Rio 2016 culture team has already staged two activities – a surprise show by the Johann Sebastian Rio performing orchestra during the 500 days until the Olympic Games celebrations, and a flashmob in Copacabana, choreographed by Deborah Colker, to celebrate the 500 days until the Paralympic Games milestone