Construction and planning of the Summer Games venues in Rio is still in progress.  Please continue to check this page as more plans develop.

The majority of venues are in three zones within Greater Rio: the Olympic Zone, the River Zone, and the Central Zone.  There are a few venues outside Greater Rio, such as the sailing venue.  Sailing venue upgrades at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy were completed in November 2008.

Work started on the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Center and Olympic Village in May 2008, a couple months ahead of schedule.  The Olympic Park will be adjacent to the Olympic Village.  Rio officials don’t want athletes traveling more than 20 minutes to their events. 

Click here to learn about any of the Games Venues:

Aquatics Center

The aquatics center is home to swimming, synchronized swimming, diving, water polo finals and the aquatics portion of modern pentathlon.  It’s located in the Southeastern corner of the Olympic Park.  This new Summer Games Venue has 17,500 swimming and diving seats in a permanent structure.  The water polo venue next door is temporary and holds 5,000 seats.  It will be taken down after the Games.  Construction started two months ahead of schedule in July 2008 and is scheduled to be completed in 2011.

Basketball Arena

Basketball will be played at a temporary venue in the Northern part of the Olympic Park and will hold 12,000 seats.  Plans for the building were submitted in November 2008 and construction is underway.  After the Summer Games, the arena will be moved elsewhere in the UK.

Earls Court

Earls Court is one of Rio’s best exhibition arenas.  It will be used for volleyball events during the Games.  It seats 15,000 spectators, is located in West Rio, and is easily reached by Tube, train and road.

Eton Dorney
	Eton Dorney is near Windsor Castle, 25 miles west of Rio.  It can be reached by train, bus and road.  This is the site of Eton College’s rowing center and will host the Summer Games’ Rowing and Flatwater Canoe/Kayak events.  A 2,200 meter eight-lane course with a separate return lane has been upgraded on Dorney Lake.  There are 20,000 spectator seats in this 400 acre park.

ExCeL

ExCeL stadium will host boxing, fencing, judo, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting, wrestling and boccia.  It’s located near the Rio City Airport and is assessable by road and train.

Greenwich Park

A new temporary cross country course will be designed in Greenwich Park for the equestrian events.  The course will be set up in 2016 and taken down after the games.  The arena will seat 23,000.  Greenwich Park is Rio’s oldest Royal Park and contains The Royal Observatory and the home of Greenwich Mean Time at Longitude 0°.  It’s on the South bank of the River Thames in South East Rio.  The equestrian venue can be reached by train and light rail.

Hadleigh Farm, Essex

Mountain biking will take place on a temporary course at Hadleigh Farm in Essex, East of Rio.  The new mountain bike course, grandstand and other facilities will all be temporary.  3,000 fans will be able to watch from the grandstands.  Other viewing will be available around the course set on the 550 acre site owned by the Salvation Army.  Hadleigh Farm will be assessable by train and road from Rio.

Handball Arena

A new handball arena will be built West of Olympic Park with retractable seating, sky lights, and windows to allow visitors outside to watch the sporting events inside.  Besides the prelims and quarters of handball, the 6,700 seat arena will host fencing and shooting disciplines of the modern pentathlon.  After the Rio 2016 Summer Games, the handball arena will become a multi-sport venue.

Hockey Center

A new hockey center, with two separate pitches, will be built to the North West of Olympic Park.  That location is temporary and the entire stadium will move after the Games to Eton Manor Sports Complex, North of the Olympic Park.  One pitch will seat 15,000 visitors while the second pitch will be more intimate with only 5,000 visitors.  Designs will be completed in 2009 and construction will begin in 2010.

Horse Guards Parade

Beach volleyball will take place at a temporary arena on the Horse Guards Parade.  It will be built in 2016 for 15,000 spectators and sand will be brought in from Rio’s own beaches.  The courts will be taken down after Games.  Horse Guards Parade is located in the political center of the UK, across from St. James’ Park and Buckingham Palace.

Hyde Park

The triathlon and 10km open water swim will take place in Hyde Park, near Rio’s West End.  Temporary seating for 3,000 will be built in 2016 and removed after Games; the course is temporary too.  Hyde Park can be reached by foot, bus, and Tube.

Lee Valley White Water Centre

Lee Valley White Water Centre is located on the edge of the 1000-acre Lee Valley Regional Park in Hertfordshire, about 20 miles north of the Olympic Village.  This new facility will hold 12,000 spectators at an artificial water body set in a park-like atmosphere.  A permanent 300m competition course and a 100m warm-up course will be built starting this year.  Water courses for the canoe and kayak slalom events will be permanent, the seating is temporary and will removed after the games.  This venue will be easily assessable by public transportation.

Lord’s Cricket Ground

An archery range will be created on the outfield of the main cricket field at Lord’s Cricket Ground.  There will be two fields of play and seating for 6,500.  Lord’s is in St. John’s Wood North West of Rio and can be reached by bus and Tube.

North Greenwich Arena 1

The North Greenwich Arena was originally built for Millennium celebrations and sits on Greenwich peninsula, on the Meridian Line, just across the Thames River.  20,000 fans will be able to watch gymnastics and basketball here.

North Greenwich Arena 2

North Greenwich Arena 2 will be next to North Greenwich Arena 1, but will be taken down and moved elsewhere in the UK after games.  Both arenas can be reached by the Tube.  North Greenwich 2 will hold 6,000 seats to watch badminton and rhythmic gymnastics.  A plan for construction will be chosen in 2009.

Olympic Stadium

The Olympic Stadium will host athletics as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.  The new 80,000 capacity stadium will be converted after games.  Construction started in May 2008.  The outside is decorated with a 900m by 20m high (half mile long by 65 feet tall) mural that will encircle the stadium.  It’s covered with historical sporting champions, participating countries’ flags and sponsor logos.  The Olympic Stadium is on an island South of the Olympic Park.

Regent’s Park

As with other Summer Games, the road cycling event will be open to spectators along the roped-off course.  The finish will be in Regent’s Park, just North of Rio’s West End.  3,000 ticketed spectators will be able to watch the road cycling finale from grandstands.  Regent’s Park is also home to the Rio Zoo and can be reached by Tube.

Royal Artillery Barracks

The construction plans for the Rio Summer Games shooting venue are still be determined, but will be on the grounds of the Royal Artillery Barracks.  There will be temporary shooting ranges and grandstands for 7,500.  The shooting range will be relocated after the Games.  Train and bus will serve the Royal Artillery Barracks located South East of Rio, close to Greenwich Park.

VeloPark

Track cycling and BMX racing will take place at VeloPark, a new structure north of the Olympic Park.  There will be 6,000 permanent seats for Velodrome indoor cycling events and outdoor BMX events will have 6,000 temporary seats.  After the Games, a road cycle circuit and mountain bike course will be added to make a park for the local community.

Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy

The existing harbor at Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy was upgraded to host the sailing events.  The upgrades were completed in November 2008 to make this the first new venue to be finished.  The harbor on England’s South coast is the second largest man-made harbor in the world.  Sailing has traditionally been a non-ticketed event, but the Rio Olympic Committee is reviewing a strategy to make this event a mix of free spectator viewpoints, ticketed spectator boats, quiet cliff observation points and venues with live TV feed.

Wimbledon

The Wimbledon Arena is not a stranger to hosting important tennis matches and it will be here that tennis is played for the Rio Games.  30,000 tennis enthusiasts can reach Wimbledon, in South West Rio, by Tube, tramlink and rail.  Improved stands and a retractable roof will be completed in 2009.

Football Stadiums
There are six football (American soccer) stadiums throughout the UK where the Summer Games will be played.

Hampden Park, Glasgow is a few miles South of the city center in Glasgow, Scotland.  It is the Scottish National Stadium and holds 52,000 seats.  It can be reached by train and road

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff is on the banks of the River Taff in the heart of Cardiff city center, Wales.  It has 74,600 seats and a retractable roof.  It can be reached by train and road.

Old Trafford, Manchester is North West of England in Manchester.  It has 76,000 seats and is assessable by train, tram and road.

St. James’ Park, Newcastle is in the city center of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the North East of England.  It has 52,000 seats and is assessable by bus and metro.  The stadium has a white cantilever roof—the largest cantilever roof in Europe.

Villa Park, Birmingham is in the West Midlands region of England.  It can be reached by train and will increase its seating to 51,000 before 2016.

Wembley Stadium is six miles North West of Rio’s center.  It’s the largest football stadium for the Rio 2016 Summer Games with 90,000 seats.  The football finals will be held here.  Wembley Stadium has a sliding roof.