USOC's Activations Bring Spirit of 2016 Games to Greatest Number of Team USA Fans Ever

The United States Olympic Committee carried out a number of fan-facing programs and activations leading up to, during and after the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games both in Brazil and at home in the United States that reached more fans than ever before. These activations began in 2015 with the mobile interactive tour, the Road to Rio Tour presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance, continued during the Games with numerous celebrations and Games experiences in Rio and at home, and will culminate with the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Games, taking place Sept. 28 in Washington, D.C.

Road to Rio Tour presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance

The Road to Rio Tour presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance was a nine-stop interactive tour that circled the country from July 4, 2015, to Sept. 10, 2016, bringing the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to Team USA fans. Free and open to the public, the stops featured athlete meet and greets, and interactive sport participation, including basketball and beach volleyball courts, a zip line and a stage for live entertainment. Virtual-reality technology allowed Team USA fans to experience pole vaulting, beach volleyball, gymnastics and diving, and through green-screen technology, fans could capture their own gold-medal moment in a number of Olympic and Paralympic settings.

New to the "Road to…" tour series, the Rio edition expanded to the year before the Games. The tour made three stops in 2015, logging more than 6,500 miles and engaging more than 91,000 Team USA fans. In addition to presenting sponsor Liberty Mutual Insurance, associate sponsors included airweave, AT&T, BP, Citi, Kellogg’s and Samsung.

By the numbers: Road to Rio Tour presented by Liberty Mutual Insurance

The tour made nine stops in nine different U.S. cities, including Philadelphia, Pa.; San Diego, Calif.; Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Chicago, Ill.; Los Angeles, Calif.; and Birmingham, Ala. More than 484,000 total people attended the tour. From start to finish, the tour logged more than 17,000 miles, which resulted in more than 2.4 million branded vehicle impressions throughout its 434-day cross-country road trip. More than 150 Team USA athletes took part in the tour by signing autographs, meeting fans and more. The tour logged 2.3 million on-site impressions and total nearly 100 million social media impressions in 18 days of operation. Extensive media coverage resulted in 609 total placements and 1.45 billion media impressions. The AT&T stage featured live performances from award-winning artists, including The Band Perry, Rachel Platten, Hunter Hayes, Maddie & Tae, Hailee Steinfeld and AJR. Nearly 50,000 total sponsor samples and/or premiums were distributed.Toast to Team USA, presented by Bridgestone

The Toast to Team USA, presented by Bridgestone was a series of exclusive VIP events leading up to the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Making stops in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, the Toast to Team USA welcomed nearly 850 guests to enjoy the Brazilian-themed festivities featuring dozens of Team USA athletes and legends, live music and more.

The first toast event was held in New York in conjunction with the 100 Day Countdown, where the USOC unveiled 50 surfboards – customized to honor the support of Team USA’s partners – that were later on display for guests at USA House in Rio. NBC’s Jimmy Roberts, a 13-time Emmy Award-winning broadcaster and writer, hosted the stop in Chicago, which ended with a musical performance by pop band AJR. Several Rio 2016 Olympians and Paralympians were on hand for the final event in Los Angeles as part of the Team USA Send Off.

USA House

USA House is the USOC’s business and hospitality center during the Olympic Games. Its primary purpose is to provide an integrated hospitality and business opportunity for key constituents, including U.S. Olympians, National Governing Bodies, sponsors, donors and international guests.

In Rio, USA House had its temporary home at Colégio São Paulo, a local elementary school that serves more than 600 Brazilian children ages 3-17. The USOC made a number of renovations to the school, and when students returned after winter break, they found improvements and upgrades aimed at contributing to the larger legacy of the Rio 2016 Games. These included the installation of modern amenities in the classrooms – including air conditioning, improved fire safety systems and improved Wi-Fi connectivity – an upgraded kitchen, patched walls and fresh paint throughout the school. These improvements will hopefully make a small impact among the great transformations the city, the organizing committee and the people have contributed in hosting the world for the 2016 Games.

The Rio 2016 Games USA House marked the eighth in history since its debut at the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games.

By the numbers: USA House

It took 11 days to complete renovations and build out the 4,683 square meters of hospitality space within Colégio São Paulo to create USA House. USA House welcomed an average of 1,000 guests per day. 23,088 meals were served to 12,098 guests who visited USA House over the course of 17 days. From Aug. 5-22, USA House logged 238 total hours of operation. Among the guests were nearly 350 competing Olympic athletes and nearly 170 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Association alumni. 49 Order of Ikkos ceremonies took place at USA House – U.S. medal celebrations during which Team USA athletes honor and induct the coaches of their choice into the prestigious order. USA House hosted 39 private events, 5 theme nights and 12 media events, including sponsor media availabilities and USA House media tours. 21 USOC sponsors and/or licensees had a presence in USA House either through natural product placement or by building an activation space.

Team USA Shop

Located within USA House, the Team USA Shop was the only place to buy official Team USA-branded products in Rio. During the Olympic Games, it offered official licensed apparel from Nike, Ralph Lauren, Oakley and Swatch, as well as flags, pins and other fun merchandise. For the first time in history, the Team USA Shop within USA House was open to the public during daily business hours. The Team USA Shop was open for the duration of the Games, 17 days in total from Aug. 5-21, and saw sales that exceeded totals from the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The LA 2024 Experience

LA 2024 designed an interactive display of the city's vision and plans for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. By creating a three-dimensional map and 270-degree viewing experience, visitors were transported from Rio to Los Angeles with stunning aerial footage of LA landmarks such as Griffith Park and the Santa Monica Pier, as well as photographs and artistic renderings of iconic sporting venues such as the LA Memorial Coliseum, Staples Center and the soon-to-be-built Los Angeles Rams Stadium. Through LA 2024's experience at USA House, all visitors and athletes could see what LA is offering athletes and fans: a low-risk, sustainable and innovative new Games for a new era in the Olympic and Paralympic movements.

Colorado Springs celebration

The Colorado Springs Olympic Downtown Celebration took place Aug. 5 in conjunction with the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, which was broadcast on a 27-foot screen in downtown Colorado Springs, Colo. Known as Olympic City USA, Colorado Springs – home of the Olympic Training Center where roughly 13,000 athletes train a year – has hosted a similar event for three consecutive Games. Thousands of Team USA fans enjoyed a ceremonial torch lighting by four-time Olympic medalist in wrestling, Bruce Baumgartner, performances by Cirque du Soleil and samba dancers, various Olympic and Paralympic sport booths and demos, live music and more.

Chula Vista celebration

For the third consecutive Olympic Games, the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, hosted an Opening Ceremony Viewing Party on the flight deck of the U.S.S. Midway Museum in San Diego. Roughly 3,500 Team USA fans enjoyed samba dancers, an Olympic distance archery demonstration on the bow of the ship, along with opportunities to learn how to shoot an archery bow, play rugby and race against the clock in a 40-yard dash. The evening began with four-time Paralympic medalist Lex Gillette singing the national anthem. BMX athletes Connor Fields, Nic Long and Alise Post were recognized on-stage during the celebration prior to leaving for Rio later in the Games.

Team USA Games-time hospitality program

The USOC hosted 300 donors and their guests in Rio through its Games-time hospitality programs – exclusive Games experiences available only to U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Foundation donors. As the philanthropic arm of the USOC, the USOPF provides hospitality offerings that allow supporters to see first-hand how their donations impact U.S. athletes and the high performance programs that serve them. These programs provide unrivaled behind-the-scenes access to athletes, competitions and Team USA venues, which included interactions with more than 40 Olympians during the Games. Divided into three waves, the USOPF’s donors and their families cheered on Team USA at 65 different Olympic events in Rio, including 74 of Team USA’s 121 medal-winning performances. For more information about the USOC’s Games-time hospitality programs, visit give.teamusa.org.

For the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, more than 100 sponsors, donors, Paralympic Sport Clubs, nonprofit partners and government officials cheered on Team USA in Rio through their participation in the USOC’s Paralympic hospitality program. The group enjoyed VIP Paralympic Family-level access to sport competitions and Team USA receptions, including a USOC celebration for 100-plus guests atop the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain. Following the women’s triathlon competition, Team USA supporters also enjoyed a reception hosted by the USOC and P&G to thank all of the families and supporters, while celebrating Team USA’s success in Rio.

Rio Olympic ticket sales

According to official USOC sponsor and authorized ticket reseller CoSport, more than 70,000 individual event tickets were purchased for use by more than 38,500 U.S. guests. The most popular sports for U.S. guests to attend during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games were athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, football, gymnastics and volleyball.

Team USA Awards presented by Dow

The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games were filled with record-setting performances and inspiring achievements, and fans have been able to vote for their favorite athletes and teams online at TeamUSA.org/awards. The Team USA Awards presented by Dow honor the outstanding achievements of U.S. athletes and teams at the Rio Games. The Olympic categories saw a record-setting number of votes by fans and has now closed. Voting for the Paralympic categories is open through Friday, Sept. 23, at 5 p.m. MT.

The action of the Games will come to life once again with the announcement of the award winners at the Team USA Awards presented by Dow, Best of the Games on Sept. 28 at Georgetown University. More than 500 U.S. Olympians and Paralympians are expected to attend the ceremony and walk the red carpet at Georgetown’s McDonough Arena. In total, nine awards will be presented:

Female Athlete of the Olympic Games, presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods Male Athlete of the Olympic Games Team of the Olympic Games, presented by Dow Female Athlete of the Paralympic Games, presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods Male Athlete of the Paralympic Games, presented by The Hartford Team of the Paralympic Games, presented by Dow Coach of the Games The Building Dreams Award, presented by USG, which honors an individual, group or community that has gone above and beyond in its support of Team USA The Jesse Owens Olympic Spirit Award, which honors an individual(s) who has served as a powerful force for good in society, inspiring others by contributing to a better world, uniting people or leading a cause.

The Team USA Awards will air on Oct. 4 on NBCSN from 10-11 p.m. ET. In addition to presenting sponsor Dow, six USOC sponsors – Coca-Cola, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Kellogg’s, The Hartford, Samsung and USG – are associate sponsors of the Team USA Awards, Best of the Games event.