Rio 2016 invites students to ‘Transforma’ programme

The Rio 2016 organising committee has partnered with the Rio de Janeiro state government to provide 33,000 tickets for local teenagers to experience the Paralympic Games.

The initiative is being organised by Transforma, the Rio 2016 education programme that has spread the Olympic and Paralympic values to seven million youngsters in over 12,000 schools across Brazil. The programme, which seeks to strengthen the role of sport in education and encourage active lifestyles, has promoted new Olympic and Paralympic sports in schools and via a series of sports festivals.

The ticket initiative is an extension of this work, with the students, age 15 to 19, from Rio state schools being provided with tickets, transport, food and even supporters’ t-shirts so they can support the Para athletes and witness the Games first-hand. There are tickets for every sport and the Opening Ceremony.

“The Paralympic Games, like the Olympic Games, are for everyone, for all sections of society, and for this reason we have created this initiative to ensure students from public schools across the state of Rio get the chance to take part in this festival of top-level sport,” said Vanderson Berbat, the head of the Rio 2016 education programme. “Sport plays a key role in education, improving academic performance and encouraging active, healthy lifestyles, so it is crucial to encourage young people to get involved. Being exposed to new sports and seeing these incredible athletes with their own eyes will be an inspirational experience.

“We also believe that Paralympic sport plays an important role in encouraging an inclusive society, and that by attending these events, the children will be better equipped to contribute to this ideal.”

The 33,000 tickets have already been allocated to schools across all 92 municipalities in the state of Rio de Janeiro. Rio 2016 has also endorsed, along with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), an international crowd-funding initiative that aims to provide 10,000 Paralympic Games tickets for Brazilian children. The #FillTheSeats campaign, which has been supported by British band Coldplay and a host of top athletes, raised USD 20,000 in one week.

The Transforma team will manage the integration with the #FillTheSeats campaign and coordinate the journeys of the children who receive tickets, who will also be from Rio state. Rio 2016 has also established a system to allow private schools in Brazil to buy batches of tickets to the Paralympic Games in seats that are grouped together.

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Sport fans from around the world can now buy their Paralympic tickets for Rio 2016 from authorised ticket resellers (ATRs)

The IPC’s Global ATR is Jet Set Sports, and Rio 2016 tickets and packages can be purchased on the CoSport website.

Residents of Brazil can buy 2016 Paralympics tickets directly from the Rio 2016 website.

Visa International is the exclusive payment card and the official payment system for the Paralympic Games.