Last March I came to Rio de Janeiro in what marked one of my first trips outside Europe with insidethegames. Never having been to Brazil before I was rather wowed by everything I saw, and particularly by the city’s glamour, colour and vibrancy. I was consequently rather less sceptical than perhaps I should have been about everything I was told, especially in relation to insistences they would still meet a bid-time legacy commitment to reducing water pollution levels across the city by 80 per cent.

A latest set of Rio 2016 commemorative coins have been unveiled as part of the celebrations marking one-year-to-go until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, while a special set of sporting stamps have also been released.

The Rio 2016 Olympic Torch is set to be handed over to Brazilian officials on April 27 next year, one week after its lighting in Ancient Olympia, it has been revealed, before beginning a 95-day journey criss-crossing around Brazil on May 3.

A musical homage to Brazilian culture formed the finale of a ceremony tonight attended by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and International Olympic Committee (IOC) counterpart Thomas Bach marking exactly one year until the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes has stoutly defended the philosophy of Rio 2016 here this morning at the start of a day of celebrations marking exactly one-year-to-go until the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Independent testing for viruses in the waters of Guanabara Bay is to be undertaken by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) as part of a pledge to "make sure something actually happens" rather than just empty talk.

TAM Airlines and TAM Travel have each been unveiled as the latest sponsors of the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, assuming responsibility for transporting the Olympic Torch on its Relay journey as well as exclusively organising Games hospitality packages in the host country. 

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has vowed to pay close attention to the final year of preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, particularly regarding the performance of both the State and City Governments. 

Rio 2016 and the Brazilian Paralympic Committee today begun a series of workshops in São Paulo in partnership with the Agitos Foundation, aimed at improving coaching, classification and sport management.