Summer Olympics 2016: Event Locations, TV Schedule and Predictions

The 2016 Rio Olympics will officially start Friday with the opening ceremony, and as the days go by, fans of the Summer Games will soon be familiar with Brazil, the city of Rio de Janeiro and the culture of the country.

The Olympics will be televised by NBC and its family of networks, and extreme fans of the Games will be able to see nearly every event they are interested in following.

The events will be held in 32 venues across Rio, as well as five other cities that will co-host Olympic soccer—here is the list of the venues.

Maracana Stadium will host the opening ceremony as well as soccer, while the Rio Olympic Arena will be home to artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. Basketball will be played at Carioca Arena 1 as well as the Youth Arena, and volleyball will feature at Maracanazinho. Track and field events will be held at the Olympic Stadium and Pontal.

NBC's family of networks includes NBC, MSNBC, the NBC Sports Network, the USA Network, CNBC, Bravo, The Golf Network, Telemundo and NBC Universo.

While pageantry and camaraderie is the focus of the opening ceremony and many aspects of the event itself, the Olympics are about superior athletes putting their talents and abilities on the line and competing against the best from around the globe for gold, silver and bronze medals.

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The whole world will be watching track and field, and it's difficult to find an event that will capture attention like the men's 100-meter dash. This event has belonged to Usain Bolt of Jamaica, and he will be challenged by American Justin Gatlin. Look for the 34-year-old to come close and earn the silver medal, but Bolt will get the gold medal once again.

Bolt should also earn a gold-medal double, as he's expected to get the best of American LaShawn Merritt in the 200-meter dash.

While the American men won't win the gold in those events, Tori Bowie is tipped to win the women's 100-meter gold medal. She should be able to hold off Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands and English Gardner of the United States.

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Veteran runner Allyson Felix should be in excellent form, and look for this American speedster to bring home the gold medal in the 400. Chaunte Lowe of the United States is the favorite to secure the gold medal in the high jump, and American Jenn Suhr will have a tough battle on her hands to hold off Fabiana Murer of Brazil in the pole vault.

The USA men's basketball team appears to be an easy gold-medal winner, and it's likely that Spain might be the only country that can give Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving and Co. a good battle. France should be the bronze-medal winner.

An American man has not won a boxing gold medal since 2004, but keep an eye on Shakur Stevenson of Newark, New Jersey, as he strives to change that. Stevenson is a top bantamweight fighter, and he will take the gold by defeating Cuba's Robeisy Ramirez.

The team pursuit is one of the top events in cycling. Great Britain has a strong men's team that should secure the gold medal. The American women are likely to win gold in that event, although they should get a major challenge from Great Britain.

He Chao of China is the leading candidate to win the three-meter individual diving event, and teammate Qiu Bo should earn the gold in the 10-meter event.

Gymnastics is always one of the most popular Olympic events, and the American women are bringing another powerful team. The United States will win the team gold medal, and Simone Biles should clinch the individual all-around gold medal. 

Biles also has a great chance to grab gold in the floor exercise and vault, while energetic Laurie Hernandez is likely to bring home the top prize in the balance beam.

The Brazilian team will bring home the gold medal in men's soccer, while the American women should have little trouble in sweeping the field on their way to the gold medal.

Veteran swimmer Michael Phelps is back in the Olympic competition, and he should be able to seal the gold in the 100-meter and 200-meter butterfly.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic should meet Andy Murray in the men's tennis final, and while Djokovic will be the big favorite, look for Murray to come away with the upset. On the women's side, American Serena Williams is a lock to win the gold medal.