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)

Aerial view over mud and waste from the disaster caused by dam spill in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais, Brazil, 26 January 2019. At least nine people have died and 300 are missing after a tailings dam burst at the Feijao mine in southeastern Brazil owned by Vale, the world's largest iron-ore producer, the Minas Gerais state government said. The dam in Brumadinho near Belo Horizonte broke on 25 January at around mid-day, unleashing a river of sludge that destroyed some nearby houses. (Photo by Antonio Lacerda/EPA/EFE)

Fans and community members gather around a LAPD car along the procession route for Nipsey Hussle after his memorial at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, April 11, 2019. 4 people shot and 1 dead during the procession LAPD reported on late April 11, 2019 The Grammy-nominated artist was killed in front of The Marathon Clothing store he founded in 2017. (Photo by Kyle Grillot/AFP Photo)

In this Saturday, July 14, 2018, file photo, waves caused by high tide envelops a man standing outside his house near the Arabian Sea in Mumbai, India. The man was washed away by the wave and rescued by locals about 100 meters away from the spot. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)

People struggle with umbrellas while walking against strong wind, as Typhoon Koinu approaches, in Hong Kong, China on October 8, 2023. (Photo by Tyrone Siu/Reuters)

Senior company members of the Dance Centre Kenya (DCK) Neema Lazzaroni (C) and Azza Qamar Rollins (R) hold onto each other while following the performance backstage ahead of their roles in The Nutcracker at the Kenya National Theatre in Nairobi on December 7, 2024. The Nutcracker is a beloved Christmas ballet, first performed in 1892, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Known for its enchanting score and festive themes, it has become a holiday tradition worldwide. (Photo by Luis Tato/AFP Photo)

U.S. Army soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment deployed to Combat Outpost Sabari, Afghanistan scan their area as they begin a multi-day air assault mission near the Pakistani border of eastern Afghanistan's Khost province May 2, 2012. (Photo by Staff Sgt. Joshua L. DeMotts/U.S. Air Force)

Policemen look at a wax figure of Rowan Atkinson, dressed as his popular television character Mr. Bean, on display outside a wax figure museum in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, August 24, 2014. (Photo by Alex Lee/Reuters)