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16 OLYMPIC REVIEW On 18 January, athletes and NOCs celebrated a milestone on the road to Rio de Janeiro, with the date marking 200 days to go until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games at the Maracan‹. As preparations enter the home straight, the Rio 2016 Organising Committee has stepped up excitement for the Games and demonstrated the host cityÕs readiness by staging a number of Olympic test events. On 15-17 January, the Carioca Arena 1 became the first Games venue to be unveiled in 2016 when it hosted the basketball test event. The 16,000-seat venue also hosted the wrestling test event two weeks later. After the Games, the venue will form part of the Olympic Training Centre (OTC), along with Carioca Arena 2, Rio Olympic Velodrome and the Olympic Tennis Centre, which staged the 20th official test event in December.The final wave of Aquece Rio competitions are scheduled to take place from March to May 2016, across seven new venues, including the Olympic Golf Course, Carioca Arena 3, Olympic Aquatics Stadium and Future Arena. Tickets are on sale for the gymnastics test event, which takes place at Rio Olympic Arena from 19 to 22 April.Among operational plans, venue openings and a packed calendar of test events, the Rio 2016 Organising Committee has also entered the Carnival spirit by organising the Atocha e Não Pira Ð the Rio 2016 Carnival ÒblocoÓ party. With an original samba composition and drums played by more than 20 members of staff, the group performed across Rio de Janeiro to promote integration and team spirit within the Organising Committee. On 24 February, the detailed route of the 2016 torch relay was announced in Rio de Janeiro. The relay will begin in Brazil on 3 May and will visit 329 towns and cities across the country before the Opening Ceremony on 5 August.TOKYO PLANS FOR MINIMAL IMPACT GAMESOn 29 January, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee confirmed its readiness to deliver minimal impact and sustainable Games when it unveiled its High-level Sustainability Plan and Fundamental Principles for the Sustainable Sourcing Code.The High-level Sustainability Plan is the framework outlining the basic approach for ensuring sustainability in Games preparations and operations. Tokyo 2020 aims to finalise its sustainability plan by the end of 2016, and to obtain the ISO 20121 international standard for event sustainability management. The Fundamental Principles for the Sustainable Sourcing Code will ensure the sustainable sourcing of products and services deemed vital to the successful delivery of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.Takeo Tanaka, Senior Director of the Tokyo 2020 Sustainability Department, said: ÒAmong the recommendations adopted in Olympic Agenda 2020 is the important theme of sustainability. Tokyo 2020 has also made sustainability one of its overriding priorities and will include sustainability in all aspects of the 2020 Olympic Games.ÓAbove Rio 2016 President Carlos Arthur Nuzman with the ISO 20121 certificationAbove Takeo Tanaka (left) with the IOC Sustainability and Legacy Commission in LausanneBelow Members of Rio 2016 celebrate CarnivalNEW VENUES UNVEILED AS RIO PASSES MILESTONE The work of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee to deliver the Olympic and Paralympic Games Ð and a positive legacy Ð in a sustainable manner has been recognised with the award of the top global certificate for sustainability in the event sector.On 27 January, Rio 2016 President Carlos Arthur Nuzman received a plaque confirming ISO 20121 certification on behalf of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee, from Vanda Nunes, director of SGS, the leading inspection and certification company. ÒWe went through a very thorough external audit which certified that we are serious about sustainability and assuming good management practices,Ó said Nuzman.Created in 2012, and first applied to the Olympic Games London 2012, the ISO 20121 international standard establishes sustainability criteria for event organisation, providing guidance and best practice advice for organisers.RIO 2016 RECEIVES SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATION