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)

A string is used to ensure that the skirts of female members of the honour guard are in the same height from the ground as they prepare for a welcoming ceremony for Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, July 5, 2016. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters)

Members of the Bearded Ladies Cabaret cross Broad St., before a march by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in Philadelphia, on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, July 25, 2016. (Photo by Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP Images)

An abandoned tank left by Boko Haram, February 20, 2016, seen on the road to Michika, Nigeria – a town formerly occupied by the insurgents. On April 14, 2014, 300 schoolgirls in the Chibok village in Nigeria were kidnapped by the terrorist group, Boko Haram. Two years later, the majority of these girls are still missing. According to the Global Terrorism Index Report 2015, Boko Haram, which operates mainly in Nigeria, has become the most deadly terrorist group in the world. (Photo by Danielle Villasana)

People take part in the 2022 National Carnival Parade, on the Malecon of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 06 March 2022. The first post-pandemic national parade of the Dominican carnival had to appeal this Sunday to its color, enthusiasm and creativity to overcome the inclement rains that delayed and hindered the most popular and unbridled cultural display in the country. (Photo by Orlando Barria/EPA/EFE)

American actress and model Ming-Na Wen attends the ceremony honoring her with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Hollywood, California on May 30, 2023. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

A poster of former President Donald Trump sits in the lobby as guests arrive for the Oakland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner on June 25, 2023 in Novi, Michigan. Trump is scheduled to speak at the dinner. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Kids jump off the breakwater into the ocean ahead the Fourth of July holiday in Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S., July 3, 2023. (Photo by Brian Snyder/Reuters)