Czech Olympic Committee to set up Olympic Park to promote sport and active lifestyle during Rio 2016

An Olympic Park will be set up by the Czech Olympic Committee (COC) on the banks of the Lipno reservoir, in South Bohemia, to promote sport and an active lifestyle throughout Rio 2016.

Having set up a similar park during the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, which attracted a total of 400,000 people over 18 days, COC are hopeful next year’s project will prove equally as successful and opted for the location after acknowledging visitors often hoped such events were also held outside the capital Prague.

While the Lipno reservoir is a centre for water sports, it is hoped the location will provide an excellent base for the public to take part in a variety of summer sporting activities under the supervision of experienced coaches.

“We were looking for the site that will have favourable conditions for summer sports, where we can take advantage of already existing sports and where we have the support of local authorities and residents,” said Jiří Kejval, COC President.

In addition to the sporting activity which will be spread throughout the park the public will also be able to watch concerts and a laser show, while street art and exhibitions are also set to take place.

Famous Czech athletes such as Olympic cross country skiing champion Kateřiny Neumannové, 10-time national figure skating gold medallist Tomáš Verner and Karel Poborský, the record caps holder for the national football team, will visit the Park during the Games to meet fans, it is planned.

It is hoped the public will take part in the sporting activities in the park whilst supporting the nation’s athletes at Rio 2016, with the action from the Brazilian city set to be broadcast on screens large screens.

“We want to make the most of existing sports infrastructure, which is virtually all municipalities,” said Marek Tesař, COC director of marketing.

“We would like to kids to come with their parents.

“We want to involve them already during the school year as part of an Olympic decathlon.

“Each participant will receive an invitation and we're going to have a decathlon competition in which schoolchildren will have the chance to win with their parents."