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)

Andrew Hepher, Vice President of Lubricants Technology, Shell unveils the Shell Concept Car in Beijing, China, Friday, April 22, 2016. Built as proof of energy efficiency that can be achieved with the latest technologies, Shell unveiled the concept car ahead of the bi-annual Beijing Auto Show where the world's top car manufacturers will showcase their own upcoming products. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Luling, Louisiana, US. New evidence contradicts previous claims of the relative safety of glyphosate, the world’s most widely used herbicide, which is manufactured here. It is often used in conjunction with seeds that have been genetically modified to tolerate its application, meaning that anyone consuming these crops is eating a genetically modified plant, and whatever residue of the pesticide that remains. (Photo by J. Henry Fair/Industrial Scars/Papadakis Publisher)

Maja, a 40-year-old elephant, extends her trunk into a bakery as a customer buys a newspaper while Maja took a stroll through the neighborhood with her minders from a nearby circus on July 1, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Sharafkhaneh port and lake Urmia. Masoud Ghadiri (Iran). The summer Milky Way is very prominent in this photo. On the galaxy zone, Saturn is located besides the Lagoon nebula. On the right of the horizon, you can see the extreme light pollution of Urmia, which is caused by ever-increasing city development. (Photo by Masoud Ghadiri/National Maritime Museum)

Festival-goers enjoy a fairground ride at Reading Festival in Reading, west of London, on August 27, 2021. As coronavirus covid-19 infection levels rise across the country, vaccines will be offered to revellers throughout the weekend. The organiser of Reading and Leeds Festivals has said such events are arguably “safer places to be” because attendees have been tested for covid-19. The festivals are returning this year with headliners including Stormzy, after being cancelled last year due to the pandemic. (Photo by Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP Photo)

Ice Age – Tibet, China. “This is the Chinese version of the blue ice lake, Pumoungcuo, at an altitude of 5,070 metres (16,600 feet). This lake in Tibet freezes every winter. At night, under the low temperatures of -20C, you can listen to the sound of the ice cracking while capturing the most beautiful winter sky. The blue ice surface and dazzling Orion constellation create a fantasy landscape. I felt so happy to have the stars as my companion on this magical night”. (Photo by Daniel Zafra Portill/Milky Way Photographer of the Year)

Sophia Fernandes, a member of the Kalunga quilombo, the descendants of runaway slaves, dons traditional afro braids, during the culmination of the week-long pilgrimage and celebration for the patron saint “Nossa Senhora da Abadia” or Our Lady of Abadia, in the rural area of Cavalcante in Goias state, Brazil, Saturday, August 13, 2022. Devotees celebrate Our Lady of Abadia at this time of the year with weddings, baptisms and by crowning distinguished community members, as they maintain cultural practices originating from Africa that mix with Catholic traditions. (Photo by Eraldo Peres/AP Photo)