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)

British Alex Yee looks exhausted after the men's individual triathlon race at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, on Wednesday 31 July 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tom Jenkins/The Guardian)

Swedish fashion model Elsa Hosk attends the “The History Of Sound” red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 21, 2025 in Cannes, France. (Photo by Benoit Tessier/Reuters)

American actress Kristen Stewart attends the Chanel Metiers d'Art runway show, in Manchester, Britain on December 7, 2023. (Photo by Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters)

A combination photo shows various popular street foods under $6 from various hawker food stalls and eateries in Singapore, taken between July 28 to 31, 2016. Top row (L to R) bak chor mee, soya sauce chicken; Middle row (L to R) laksa, hokkien mee, nasi lemak, ice kachang; Bottom row (L to R) rojak, roti prata and satay. (Photo by Edgar Su/Reuters)

A motorcyclist, Helton Garcia dressed as Santa Claus, rides his motorcycle before handing out gifts to children in a rural school in Santo Antonio do Descoberto, state of Goias, Brazil on December 10, 2023. (Photo by Adriano Machado/Reuters)

Omar Proeza, dressed as Wolverine, proposes marriage to Victoria Nauri, dressed as Beast during a Comic Con in Caracas, Venezuela on November 17, 2024. (Photo by Gaby Oraa/Reuters)