The emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) in the Americas has been met with growing concern in the midst of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic games. This review aims to evaluate the precedence of other arboviruses epidemics in Brazil, historical precedence of large international events in the setting of mosquito-borne disease epidemics, and recent seasonal decrease in notified cases of ZIKV in Rio de Janeiro to determine the safety of proceeding with the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic games as scheduled.