Celebration Bermuda Turned Heads at the Olympic Games

Celebration® Bermudagrass took Rio by storm in 2014 grassing six stadiums during soccer’s World Cup. Two years later, Celebration got the world’s attention again at the Summer Olympic Games. Celebration was on the fields of five soccer venues this time; the equestrian facility, the rugby field and numerous auxiliary training facilities.

     Engenhao – Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Olympic Stadium)

     Arena Mane Garrincha – Brasilia, DF

     Arena Fonte Nova – Salvador, BA

     Mineirao – Belo Horizonte, MG

     Maracana – Rio de Janeiro, RJ

     Cross Country (horse) – Rio de Janeiro, RJ

     Rugby – Rio de Janeiro, RJ

“Celebration Bermudagrass has key attributes required for a short event: color and fast regeneration,” said Alexandre Vieira dos Santos, whose company Greenleaf Gramados does the installations for the events. ” That covers most concerns managers have for short tournaments.”

The site of the opening and closing ceremonies (as well as soccer), Maracana was grassed with Celebration before the games. Greenleaf’s crews ripped it up in order to set the stage for the opening ceremonies and then truckloads of Celebration were brought back in to cover the field for soccer and events. When the games finished, the Celebration was once again removed and replaced with a hard surface for the closing ceremonies. Then following the games thick-cut Celebration big rolls from Brazilian grower Itograss Agricola were put back down again in time for a grueling soccer season in Brazil.

Alexandre Vieira dos Santos feels like the hard work of his crews and the success of Celebration once again made for a successful event, no matter the size and scope.

“Due to excellent performance of Celebration with its attributes known to all we got quality levels required by the IOC and FIFA and so reach our goals,” said dos Santos.

Look for Celebration grassing stadiums this fall when American football gets underway.