Volunteer Deadline Extended for Rio’s Olympic Ceremonies

By Shalina Chatlani, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL- The deadline to volunteer for the opening and closing ceremonies at the Maracaña stadium for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been extended till September 30th. Auditions will begin in November, and those selected will begin rehearsals in April 2016.

According to the Rio 2016 website, the organizers are looking for volunteer performers that have an interest in the activities like “skateboarding, roller skating, juggling, percussion and acrobatics.” They also emphasize that they are looking for volunteers from all around the world, and that it is not necessary to be of a particular nationality or to have any prior specialist skills or performance experience.

There are over 10,000 spots to be filled, and applicants must be sixteen years or older after by April 1st and have a basic understanding of Portuguese, because all training will be held in the local language. Underage candidates will need to receive consent from a guardian according to the statement published.

The 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games are the first Olympics to occur in South America, and initially, organizers needed over 70,000 volunteer spots to be filled for selection committees, volunteer training centers, as well as ceremonies. When the registration had closed in August, over 240,000 people from countries such as the U.S., Russia, China, and Great Britain had applied.

The Olympic committee currently has around 1,300 employees at their headquarter base in Cidade Nova. However, more employment opportunities are usually available, as new positions and site-specific occupations open up. These opportunities will be published online at the jobs-site of the Rio 2016 homepage. Those from out of the country that wish to apply must have a proper work visa.

The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games will occur on August 5, 2016 while the closing ceremony will take place on August 21, 2016, both at the Maracaña Stadium. The Paralympic Games opening ceremony be held on September 7, 2016, with the closing ceremony on September 18, 2016.