Sports and Technology Have the Power to Change the World

CHAPTER 3Social Media Takes the Olympics by Storm: 2016 Rio Olympics: The Refugee Olympic Team Is the Winner

August 5, 2016, was a picture-perfect day in Rio de Janeiro. However, this was no ordinary August day; this was the day the world had been waiting for, the day that Brazil had been feverishly preparing for and the day that history was about to be made. This was the Opening Ceremony to the 2016 Rio Olympics.

The infectious beat of Brazilian Samba music filled the air from the favelas on the hilltops and surrounding neighborhoods, rising to a thunderous clash of music and cheering crowds in the Maracanã Stadium. This monument to athletic history in the heart of Rio de Janeiro was alive! Hundreds of thousands of adoring fans packed the stadium inside and out for this joyous occasion, and their voices rang out loud and proud into the Rio evening. The Maracanã Stadium, or Estádio do Maracanã, as it is known locally, stood tall and proud as a brilliant light shining under the watchful eye of 30-meter-tall awe-inspiring Christ the Redeemer Statue, high on top of Corcovado mountain. This was the center of the Olympic universe, which the sporting world was set up to revolve around for the next 16 days, taking the world on a sporting and cultural journey across Brazil.

The air inside Maracanã Stadium was thick with excitement, a palpable electrical charge that connected the thousands gathered within the stadium, and millions tuned in on television sets and streaming on smart ...