The Olympic Games are very nearly upon us. That means a month’s worth of the finest athletics, swimming, diving, weightlifting and many other sports. It’s also the ideal time to get to know more about its location this time around—Rio De Janeiro.
We’ve rounded up 10 apps that will help you in your Olympic journey, whether you’re watching at home, or right there at the stadium.
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1. Rio 2016 (Free) - Official apps are generally a great starting point for many events. Rio 2016 currently offers information on the famous Olympic Torch Relay, keeping you informed of its schedule and the route it follows. Alongside that are real-time photos and videos of the celebrations going on around it. It's promised that once the Games start, there'll be more information on the venues, and the competition schedule.
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2. NBC Olympics: Rio News & Results (Free) - NBC has the rights to the Olympics in the USA, meaning its app is an ideal place for all the latest news and scores. The app offers athlete profiles, highlights from past Games, as well as information on how the US Trials have progressed. You can check out video highlights, as well as read insights from experts. When the games start, you can check out the schedules, too.
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3. NBC Sports (Free) - For fans in the USA, NBC Sports makes it easy to watch all of the Olympics, no matter where you are. You can stream live events throughout the Games, as well as check out video clips, preview upcoming events and check out a schedule. It'll work for numerous other sporting events later in the year too, such as NFL, NHL and the Premier League.
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4. ESPN (Free) - The ESPN app is a great service for any sports fan. In the case of the Olympics, you'll be able to use it to be kept in the know at all times. It offers up-to-the-minute scores, along with the latest news, live video and audio streaming from the ESPN network. It'll continue to be useful come football, basketball, and baseball season too.
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5. BBC Sport (Free) - The BBC Sport app might offer more of a focus on British sport than the other options, but it's still pretty useful. You can use its features to personalize the stories you view, setting up a 'My Sport' page that brings together everything you require. That's particularly useful when there are specific parts of the Olympics that appeal to you.
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6. Brazil Travel Guide (Free) - Lucky enough to be going to Rio to see the games in person? Brazil Travel Guide is a handy app for helping you get to know the area even better. You can use it to look up various major monuments, check out information on the nightlife and simply view offline maps of the region. There's a phrasebook with useful Portuguese phrases too.
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7. Yelp (Free) - While you're in Brazil, you'll want to visit good quality restaurants, shops and other services. Yelp will help you out here. The app offers millions of reviews for businesses, backing it up with accurate filters, maps and other details relating to the establishment. You won't feel lost again.
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8. Uber (Free) - Uber's an essential addition for everyone, right? It'll work in Rio too, ensuring you can easily get a ride within minutes and without worrying about waiting in taxi lines. Expect this to save you plenty of time while you're trying to beat the rush before and after each event. You never know, you might get a ride from a driver keen to tell you about the local area too.
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9. Airbnb (Free) - A little like Uber but for accommodation, Airbnb is great if you want to stay in a more conventional Rio apartment, rather than at a hotel. You can use the app to find a place to stay before you get there, spending some time arranging your itinerary and getting to know your host ahead of time.
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10. Hotel Tonight (Free) - For those wanting a more upmarket form of accommodation than Airbnb typically offers, Hotel Tonight will give you last-minute discounts on unsold hotel rooms. You can book a room within 10 seconds through the app, accommodating for all manners of price ranges. Use a combination of this and Airbnb across your extended stay during the Olympics, and you should have the best of both worlds.