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)

La Traviata chandelier is positioned on stage at Mrs Macquarie's Point on March 16, 2012 in Sydney, Australia. Covered with 10,000 Swarovski crystals, the 9 metre high chandelier will be hung above the performing stage of the La Traviata Opera. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Candice Swanepoel attends the Victoria's Secret Very s*xy Tour Stop in Dallas at Victoria's Secret Beauty at the NorthPark Mall on March 22, 2012 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Peter Larsen/ Getty Images for Victoria's Secret)

This is the Legends Russian Series. Legends car exceeds new Porsche 911 power-to-weight ratio – it is 260 hp per ton with the car weight of 500 kg. It’s been designed in the USA by 600 Racing Inc, a subsidiary of Speedway Motorsport, the largest motorsport holding company in America with the annual turnover of $567,000,000. Khimki, Moscow region. February 11, 2012. (Photo by Alexey Petrov)

The knitted sculpture “William Tell” by Patricia Waller sits in the “Broken Heroes” exhibition at the Deschler Gallery on April 26, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. The exhibition of hand-crocheted comic, puppet and cartoon figures shows icons of pop culture in various unfortunate states. (Photo by Adam Berry)

A life size animatronic Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur arrives at Bristol Zoo Gardens on May 14, 2012 in Bristol, England. Twelve animatronic dinosaurs arrived at Bristol Zoo Gardens this morning after being transported in crates from Texas, USA. They will form part of the zoo's summer exhibition “DinoZoo” which opens later this month. (Photo by Matt Cardy)

“George Clair Tooker, Jr. (August 5, 1920 – March 27, 2011) was a figurative painter whose works are associated with the Magic realism and Social realism movements. He was one of nine recipients of the National Medal of Arts in 2007”. – Wikipedia

Photo: “Government Bureau”, 1956; Metropolitan Museum of Art. Artwork by George Tooker. P.S. All pictures are presented in high resolution.