Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On 5 August 2016 took place the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, organized for the first time in South America (Brazil). The history of Modern Olympics is closely linked to Pierre de Fredy, Baron of Coubertin: Freemason, French pedagogue and historian, founder of the International Olympic Committee and founder of the modern Olympic Games.
The number of Freemasons to be present in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympic Games varies between 16,500 and 18,200. Brazil has one of the largest Masonic communities in the world, and the largest in Latin America. Some statistics show that in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games were involved (at all levels of activity) over 3,700 Freemasons, and during the course of the game their number exceeds 1,200.
The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games was marked by symbolism: Rio de Janeiro was the capital of the Brazilian Freemasonry until 1960, here were initiated in Freemasonry some of the greatest personalities of Brazilian colonial, imperial and republican society . Also, the opening ceremony has drawn attention to global warming and the plant chosen was a small acacia shrub, one of the important symbols of Blue Freemasonry. In terms of symbolism, the Olympics in Brazil were much poorer than the one that took place in London in 2012.