![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio Christ the Redeemer is seen from the Vista Chinesa (Chinese View) during sunrise in Rio de Janeiro, May 4, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-10.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
The 2016 Summer Olympic Games will commence on Aug. 5 with the Opening Ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. The embattled host city has faced sharp criticism ahead of the games as it attempts to control the spread of the Zika virus—while working to contain a dire financial situation after declaring a “state of public calamity in financial administration.”
Brazil’s economic crisis, political unrest and Zika epidemic have taken center stage, overshadowing the usual fanfare that surrounds the Summer Olympics. Reuters photographer Ricardo Moraes went in search of a different viewpoint, and captured images of Rio’s beauty in a series of land and cityscapes entitled “Postcards from Rio.”
In the photographs, we see a sunset over Sugarloaf Mountain; spot a pair of sunbathers at Barra da Tijuca beach; and get a bird’s-eye view of the Christ the Redeemer statue.
“When it hosts the first ever Olympics in South America, starting Aug. 5, visitors will see a city whose stunning topography—stark, verdant mountains loom over packed and playful beaches—competes only with the drama of daily life here,” Moraes said in a post on Reuters’ “The Wider Image.”
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio Christ the Redeemer is seen from the Vista Chinesa (Chinese View) during sunrise in Rio de Janeiro, May 4, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-10.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio The Museu do Amanha (Museum of Tomorrow) is seen during sunrise in Rio de Janeiro, July 12, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-09.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio Sugarloaf Mountain is seen from the Santa Teresa neighbourhood during sunrise in Rio de Janeiro, June 16, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-08.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio Sugarloaf Mountain is seen from the sea-line of Praia Vermalha beach in Rio de Janeiro, May 5, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-07.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio An aerial view shows the Pedra da Gavea mountain in Rio de Janeiro, July 16, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-06.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio An aerial view shows Christ the Redeemer atop the Corcovado mountain in Rio de Janeiro, July 16, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-05.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio Christ the Redeemer is seen behind Morro da Coroa (Coroa slum) in Rio de Janeiro, July 13, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-04.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio Sugarloaf Mountain is seen from the Vista Chinesa (Chinese View) during sunrise in Rio de Janeiro, May 4, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-03.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio An aerial view shows people on Barra da Tijuca beach in Rio de Janeiro, July 16, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-02.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![The Wider Image: Postcards from Rio Morro Dois Irmao (Two Brothers Hill) is pictured from Pedra Bonita mountain in Rio de Janeiro, May 3, 2016.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/rio-olympics-summer-2016-postcards-photos-01.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
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