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Five ways to mark the Olympics

The highlight of this year's sporting calendar, there are many ways to celebrate Rio 2016 - with or without your students

Posted by Stephanie Broad | August 06, 2016 | Sports & Leisure

• #rio-2016
• #olympics
• #teaching
• #summer-holidays
• #sport

Organise your own ‘festa’ 

The Rio 2016 opening ceremony is all about the hosts. And no Brazilian party is complete without the right mix of food, drink and music! Get some top tips on food, drink and music on the Rio 2016 website. 

Learn about Olympic history 

Few events have the ability to capture the public’s imagination like the Olympic Games. Each Games seems to produce flashbulb moments that live in our collective memory for years. From Jesse Owens’s triumph in Germany to Mo Farah's historic runs at the 2012 Games, the official Rio 2016 website takes a look back at some of the moments that are forever etched in Olympic history. 

Get pupils inspired 

It might be the summer holidays, but if you’re running a camp or boarding provision during the Games why not plan some Rio-inspired activities?

The Teaching Ideas website has a multitude of activity ideas for English, maths, science, arts, computing and humanities lessons! Our favourites are: writing a timeline of the Olympics, designing a new logo and making videos about pupils’ favourite sports.

Learn Portuguese 

The British Council is urging Britons to ‘give Portuguese a go’ as new research reveals that almost 40 per cent of the UK population don’t realise that it is the official language of this year’s Olympic and Paralympic host-country, Brazil. 

Their new UK wide survey of over 2,000 people unveils that many Britons won’t be winning gold when it comes to their linguistic knowledge of Brazil. Almost a fifth of those surveyed (18%) were under the impression that Spanish was the main language used in Brazil while more than one in ten (11%) believed it to be Brazilian. 

With only a small percentage of the Brazilian population able to speak English to a proficient level, those travelling to Rio to cheer on Team GB could end up lost in translation if they don’t choose to learn some words and phrases before going. 

Mark Herbert, Head of Schools Programmes at the British Council, said: “Portuguese is a hugely important language for the UK both now and in the future. With the eyes of the world on Rio this summer, we have the perfect opportunity to learn more about this fascinating part of the world and to try out some Portuguese along the way. Ultimately having more of us being able to speak at least a little of a foreign language is good for the UK’s long–term competitiveness in the increasingly connected world.” 

Help young Brazilians into sport

While the Games are taking place, there are communities in Brazil that are far from carnival fever. Team GB chose Fight for Peace as one of its charity partners for the 2016 Games, as the team looks to make a positive impact on the wider Rio community. Fight for Peace is a boxing and martial arts charity that operates in London and Rio, to attract young people into sport and away from crime and violence. You can find out more on the Team GB website.