OLYMPICS-RIO/ONE YEAR-PARK Rio’s mayor says all Olympic venues are on schedule

Record ID: 145003

  • Title: OLYMPICS-RIO/ONE YEAR-PARK Rio’s mayor says all Olympic venues are on schedule
  • Date: 5th August 2015
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (AUGUST 05, 2015) (REUTERS) OFFICIALS POSING WITH OLYMPIC MASCOT, VINICIUS, OUTSIDE THE OLYMPIC PARK RIO DE JANEIRO MAYOR, EDUARDO PAES (RIGHT OF MASCOT), AND OTHER OFFICIALS POSING WITH THE OLYMPIC MASCOT
  • Embargoed: 20th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAE903J43SDS5IWIXSE1BT7CT9K
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: With just one year to the start of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the city's mayor on Wednesday (August 5) said he was proud to say all venues are on schedule to be ready for the mega sporting event which kicks off on August 5, 2016.
    Mayor Eduardo Paes toured the Olympic Park in the Barra de Tijuca neighbourhood on Wednesday along with the president of the local organizing committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman.
    The pair met with workers and other officials at the site while posing for pictures with Vinicius, one of two Rio 2016 mascots.
    Paes voiced confidence and optimism as he said the Olympic Park was 82 percent complete.
    He singled out the velodrome which is one of the venues most often cited as in need of work, saying it was back on schedule after earlier hiccups.
    "The Olympic velodrome, which is still treated like a (point of) concern, it is 61 percent completed. It is on schedule. It was a project that we had some problems with, but with the scheduling adjustments we did, it is once again on schedule. The roof is being put on now. We're not too worried about it because it is the smallest venue in the Olympic Park. It seats just 5,000," Paes said.
    Among the biggest issues facing the local organizing committee are the pollution levels at water events including triathlon and open water swimming, with most concerns centred around Rio's fetid Guanabara Bay where sailing events will be held.
    The waters off the Atlantic coast have been filthy for decades and Rio promised to reduce pollution by 80 percent in the bay.
    But independent studies released last week showed dangerously high levels of viruses and bacteria and officials admit they will not meet that target.
    All the same, Nuzman said safety was their number one priority while downplaying reports of fish die-offs in some of the waters.
    "The concern of the organizing committee has always been the athletes' health and that we have the best possible conditions for the sport, independent of whether there might be some other location. But I also want to remind you that a lot of athletes said they swam with fish. So there is a conflict of information that doesn't match between FINA (International Swimming Federation) who are in Kazan, Russia [for the 16th FINA World Championships] and with what the athletes are saying in Rio de Janeiro," Nuzman said, slapping down the idea of moving the sailing events to a different location.
    Some athletes who have been preparing at the scheduled competition sites have reportedly voiced opposition to moving competition venues saying it would defeat the purpose of their training on location, putting them at a disadvantage.
    Rio 2016 has not said it intends to move any of the competitions.
    Paes said the Olympic Park, which he toured with media in tow, will be delivered in the second half of 2016.
    Furthermore, the Olympic village is more than 84 percent complete, and the swimming pool, media centre and the three arenas that will host six indoor events are all more than two-thirds ready, according to numbers released by the Foreign Ministry.
    "The brand of Latin American countries isn't known for getting things done on schedule. From the beginning we've said it like this; if soccer has a time (limit), if in track and field the guy in the race has the best time; in most sports, time is usually involved… we've got a time (limit) too. There's an intangible legacy that is creating a culture in this country that things can be done on schedule. We're really proud to be presenting everything here today with everything on schedule one year from the Games," he said.
    Work on temporary venues for the rugby and beach volleyball is still to begin, as are final alterations to the track and field stadium and the Maracana, where the opening and closing ceremonies and the soccer finals will take place.
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