Rio de Janeiro, May 21 (IANS): The most iconic symbol of the Olympics is decorating the host city of the 2016 Games. Rio's City Hall has installed the giant Olympic rings in Madureira Park here.

The symbol, which represents the union of the five continents, was donated by Britain. During the London Olympics, the rings decorated the Tyne Bridge in Newcastle, one of the football host cities in 2012, reports Xinhua.

They were transported by ship with the help of the Brazilian Navy. The trip took 20 days between January and February.

The rings were installed in Madureira Park in northern Rio, far from the heart of the Olympics in the western suburb of Barra da Tijuca.

The choice of Madureira Park as the "home" of the Olympic rings complies with the concept of integrating the whole city with the Olympics.

"The Olympics are for the people of Rio de Janeiro and it is important that residents feel they are a fundamental part of this movement which is transforming the city. Madureira is in the heart of the suburbs, where our identity was created, and is in one of the poorest regions of the city where the Games have had a great affect," Rio mayor Eduardo Paes said on Wednesday.

The inauguration ceremony was also joined by the president of the Coordination Commission for the Rio 2016 Games from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Nawal el Moutawakel and the president of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman.

The Rio Olympics will open on August 5, 2016.