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)

Self-employed pedicab driver Danilo Guerra, 25, uses his mobile phone as he waits for clients in downtown Havana April 12, 2016. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/Reuters)

Brazilians in favor of the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff demonstrate as the Lower House of Congress voted over her impeachment in Brasilia, Brazil April 17, 2016. The sign reads, “The people want justice. Prison for the corrupt”. (Photo by Adriano Machado/Reuters)

Russian model Irina Shayk encourages fans to find their own unicorn in the second decade of April 2022. (Photo by irinashayk/Instagram)

Beau Blades poses for photo at Mulletfest 2025 Grand Final at the Chelmsford Hotel on December 06, 2025 in Kurri Kurri, Australia. Hundreds of mullet enthusiasts from across Australia and internationally converged at Chelmsford Hotel in the Hunter Valley for the Mulletfest Grand Final, where competitors vied for the coveted title of “Best Mullet of Them All” across multiple categories ranging from junior to extreme styles. (Photo by George Chan/Getty Images)

Mohammed El-Dahshan, 38-year-old “Mesaharati”, or dawn caller, accompanies his donkey wrapped with colored led lights to wake Muslims up for a meal before sunrise, during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, in the Delta city of Dikernis, about 93 miles (150 km) North of Cairo, Egypt early Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Each night, El-Dahshan, sets out after midnight with his donkey banging his drum, chanting traditional religious phrases and calling out on residents by name to wake them in time for the vital pre-dawn meal known as “Suhour”. (Photo by Amr Nabil/AP Photo)

This photo taken on August 7, 2016 shows mahjong enthusiasts playing mahjong under water in a swimming pool at a diving club in the Chinese city of Chongqing. Only participants with proper diving certification were allowed to take part in the underwater competition. (Photo by AFP Photo/Stringer)

A five-month-old cheetah seated in the back of a Land Cruiser growls at an outstretched hand after being taken from traffickers in Ethiopia and driven to Harirad, Somaliland, in 2020. This photo is part of the work of more than 100 artists in Why We Photograph Animals, a new collection of wildlife photography that aims to help understand why people have photographed animals at different points in history and what it means in the present. (Photo by Nichole Sobecki/Thames & Hudson)