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Spotlight on… CZECH NOCNOC OF CZECH REPUBLIC TO OPEN ITS OWN OLYMPIC PARKThe NOC of Czech Republic is set to open its own Olympic Park in Plzeň for the duration of the Olympic Games Rio 2016.The complex, which will be open to the public from 5 to 21 August, will have a stage and large-screen displays showing coverage of Rio, as well as facilities for refreshments and areas where fans can try out a range of Olympic sports for themselves. It will also feature onsite competitions, exhibitions, concerts, book signings and camps for hundreds of young people.The park – which is expected to to attract more than 25,000 fans – will provide “the biggest public sporting event in Plzeň this year”, according to the town’s Mayor Martin Zrzavecký, and has attracted the support of Czech Olympians such as Plzeň-born triathlete Přemysl Švarc.WOZNIACKI TO CARRY DANISH FLAG AT 2016 OPENING CEREMONYAhead of the Olympic Games Rio 2016, the NOC of Denmark has chosen tennis player Caroline Wozniacki as the country’s flagbearer for the Opening Ceremony. The announcement was made at a press conference held at Copenhagen Town Hall in February, during which IOC Member Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark handed the Danish flag to Wozniacki, in the presence of the Danish NOC’s Chef de Mission for the 2016 Games, Morten Rodtwitt.Wozniacki first participated in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 and, four years later in London, reached the quarter-finals of the singles tournament.Above Caroline Wozniacki will compete in her third edition of the Olympic GamesIn February, the Brazilian Embassy in Guatemala and the Guatemalan NOC organised an Olympic Carnival to present the country’s athletes who will compete at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 to the Guatemalan public. In Guatemala City’s Obelisk Square, dozens of people shared a moment with the Guatemalan athletes who have already qualified for the Games, as well as others who are also hoping to qualify. In attendance were Brazilian ambassador João Luiz Pinto, IOC Executive Board Member Willi Kaltschmitt Luján, Chef de Mission of Guatemala’s Olympic delegation to the Games Fernando Cáceres and three Guatemalan Rio 2016 volunteers.Both young and old used the occasion to take photos with the athletes and ask them for autographs. Below Modern pentathlete Charles Fernandez competes in the Aquece Rio test eventThe ground-breaking ceremony for the Philippine Olympic Committee-Gawad Kalinga San Agustin Activity Centre took place in February at Barangay San Agustin in Palo, Leyte. It is the first of four activity centres that will be built in locations badly affected by Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest storm ever recorded, in 2013. The other centres will be built in Alangalang and Albuera, also in Leyte, and Estancia, in Iloilo. The Activity Centre is a multi-purpose facility that can host basketball, volleyball, futsal, badminton and tennis, but can also accommodate social and civic events and serve as a relief/distribution centre during catastrophes. Funds to build the Centre were donated by the IOC, Olympic Solidarity, and the Olympic Council of Asia.GUATEMALAN PUBLIC GREETS OLYMPIANSNOC OF PHILIPPINES LEADS ACTIVITY CENTRE CEREMONYAbove The park will be located in the city of PlzeňOLYMPIC REVIEW 21