Rio Lands Telecom Sponsor; Pam Am Safety Promises; Olympic Park Poetry

Telecom Giants Partner with Rio Olympics

Rio 2016 has a national telecommunications sponsor in place more than five years ahead of Brazil’s first Summer Games.

The organizing committee awarded exclusivity and branding rights Friday to a consortium of Embratel and Claro, two of the host country’s largest data providers.

"We’ve reached one more historical moment for the Rio 2016 Games," chief organizer Carlos Nuzman said in a statement.

"Being able to count on a consortium composed of companies of Claro and Embratel caliber is not only an honor but, above all, [gives us] confidence that we will face the challenges of Rio 2016 in telecommunications area with more comfort."

Claro is the largest cellular network in the Americas. Embratel is headquartered in Rio de Janeiro but owned by Mexican telecom giant Telmex.

The consortium's right to associate itself with Rio 2016 and the Brazilian Olympic Committee begins immediately.

2011 Pan Ams to be Safe Says Mexican Sports Leader

A Mexican sports leader says that violence that plagues the country will not affect the Pan American Games set for October in Guadalajara.

A report in the newspaper Veracruz Hoy says that Bernardo de la Garza, the general director of CONADE, the National Commission of Physical Culture and Sports, denies that gang violence in Mexico will undermine the upcoming Pan American Games.

Nonetheless, de la Garza admits that Mexico is struggling with a bad image outside the country. He notes that other countries in Latin America have higher crime rates than Mexico, but do not receive the same attention.

De la Garza was in Veracruz where he spoke to a meeting of CASCO, the Central American and Caribbean NOC organization.

De la Garza says that not a single delegationamong the 42 NOCs in the Pan American region has signaled intentions to stay away from Guadalajara over fears of violence, which he says is not a big issue in the Jalisco state capital. Guadalajara, population 4.4 million, is Mexico’s second-largest city.

De la Garza says a combination of federal, state and municipal police will work together to keep the Pan Ams safe.

Tennyson Tapped for Olympic Park Engraving

Athletes at London 2012 will take inspiration in part from a man far better known for his words than for his actions.

The Olympic Delivery Authorityannounced Monday that a line of poetry from Alfred Lord Tennyson will be etched upon a wall in the Athletes’ Village.

"To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield," reads the final line of Tennyson’s 1833 masterpiece "Ulysses".

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and author Sebastian Faulks were among the expert panelists responsible for Monday’s decision.

"These are words we felt could be an inspiration for the athletes preparing for their Olympic and Paralympic moments in 2012 and equally for the future residents, generations of pupils at the school and all the thousands of visitors to the Olympic Park after the Games," ODA head of arts and cultural strategy Sarah Weir said in a statement.

The engraved wall will stand strong even after the Athletes’ Village is converted into new housing after the London Olympics.

More poems will be peppered throughout Olympic Park as part of "Winning Words", a Games initiative launched by National Poetry Day founder William Sieghart.

Written by Matthew Grayson and Ed Hula.