Rio 2016 Launches Bid Logo

I like it. I'm not head over heels about it, but it's very nice in many ways and I think it will serve their bid well.

From GamesBids.com:

Rio’s logo for its 2016 Summer Olympic Games bid was launched Monday during a Brazil Olympic Award ceremony in Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro.

The event was attended by more than 500 Brazilian Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro Sergio Cabral, Minister of Sports for Brazil Orland Silva, as well as officials of the Brazilian Olympic and Paralympic Committees and several national federations.

The logo was selected by a jury from among four finalists.

Logo designer Ana Soter said, “the heart-shaped Sugar Loaf represents the unquestionable passion and thrill of Brazilians for sports. The exclamation mark incorporated into number 1 produced a brand that represents perfectly their expectation and excitement for the opportunity to host this edition of the Olympic Games”.

She added that having Rio de Janeiro as her source of inspiration for several years, the shapes of the Sugar Loaf represent the natural riches cariocas are so proud of, and the “proposal” of the logo is to frame the wealth of colours of Rio de Janeiro’s “exuberant nature”.

Carlos Nuzman, President of Brazil’s Olympic Committee and President of Rio 2016 called the logo Emblematic, powerful, noble” and said that it communicates with perfection the natural landscapes of Rio de Janeiro. “in addition, it conveys energy, happiness and also the city’s characteristic of warmly welcoming all different races and cultures, just like Brazilians do. These values express what Rio de Janeiro’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games is”, he said.