The Rio de Janeiro Olympics kick off on August 5 for some two weeks of competitive games drawing athletes as well as audiences from around the world. As they prepare to cover the event, Reuters photographers look back on their favourite pictures from past Olympics where they captured the action on the ground as well as the participants' tears and joy that followed. (Photo by Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)

A man rides a horse through flames during the annual “Luminarias” celebration on the eve of Saint Anthony's day, Spain's patron saint of animals, in the village of San Bartolome de Pinares, northwest of Madrid, Spain, January 16, 2017. (Photo by Paul Hanna/Reuters)

A Tibetan artists wearing a traditional costume waits before their performance during the 82nd pre-birthday celebration of Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama at a Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal, 05 July 2017. More than 1,000 monks and other Tibetans gathered at the Monastery compound to celebrate their spiritual leader's birthday. The Nepalese government has banned all kinds of Tibetan activities against the Chinese rule in Tibet so Tibetans have been changing the venue of the Dalai Lama's birthday celebration. The Dalai Lama will turn 82 on 06 July 2017. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA)

A Palestinian youth demonstrates his parkour skills on a street in Gaza City, January 15, 2016. (Photo by Suhaib Salem/Reuters)

A horse handler poses with a horse during a beach parade at Muizenberg beach, in Cape Town, South Africa on January 5, 2024. (Photo by Esa Alexander/Reuters)

Reuters multi-award winning photographers are celebrated here in a three part retrospective on the 30th anniversary of the service's launch. They have captured dramatic images illustrating the human tragedy of natural disaster and war as well as the fallout of economic events across the continents, creating iconic images, recognised around the world. Here: an injured soccer fan is carried to safety by a friend after a wall collapsed during violence between fans before the European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool at the Heysel stadium in Brussels, May 29, 1985. 39 people died, and a further 600 were injured. (Photo by Nick Didlick/Reuters)

Its your big day, youve spent months planning every last detail of your wedding and youre just about to capture the moment perfectly on camera whenyoure upstaged by a grinning donkey. At least thats what happened to these poor couples who were dramatically photobombed by a whole host of camera-hogging animals on their special day.The hilarious snaps show a series of irate brides being upstaged by everything from a cat to a camel and a dog to a donkey. Here: A donkey photobombs a bride on her wedding day. (Photo by Caters News Agency)

A youth in costume hurries past a mural after dancing at the Sun Festival in Cotacachi, Ecuador, Sunday, June 24, 2018. Across the Andes, from the tip of Argentina as far north as Colombia, indigenous communities are gathering for the southern hemisphere's winter solstice to honor the ancient sun god. (Photo by Dolores Ochoa/AP Photo)