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)

Dancers take part in “La Vijanera”, a winter masquerade at the beginning of carnival season in Europe, in Silio, northern Spain, January 8, 2017. (Photo by Vincent West/Reuters)

Tatiana Osorio, of Orlando, cries while giving blood at the OneBlood blood center near the mass shooting at a nightclub, June 13, 2016, in Orlando, Fla. Osorio lost three friends in the shooting. (Photo by David Goldman/AP Photo)

Jumeirah's Global Brand Ambassador Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, completes a remarkable year with another amazing bunker shot on the helipad at the Burj Al Arab hotel on December 12, 2011 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images for Jumeirah)

Models Mei Jiang and Camille Razat pose backstage prior to the “Le Defile Walk Your Worth” By L'Oreal Paris Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 02, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Francois Durand/Getty Images for L'Oréal Paris)

Chinese tourists make a toast with canned drinks and fried chicken pieces during an event organized by a Chinese company at a park in Incheon, South Korea, March 28, 2016. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters)