BRAZIL: OLYMPICS - Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes downplays concerns over preparations for 2016 Olympics

Record ID: 329471

  • Title: BRAZIL: OLYMPICS - Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes downplays concerns over preparations for 2016 Olympics
  • Date: 3rd June 2010
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (JUNE 2, 2010) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF COPACABANA BEACH SIDEWALK VARIOUS OF EXTERIOR OF COPACABANA PALACE HOTEL WHERE MEMBERS OF BRAZIL'S OLYMPIC COMMITTEE AND BUSINESSMEN MET WITH RIO DE JANEIRO AUTHORITIES CLOSE OF BANNER IN THE ENTRANCE OF EVENT'S ROOM, READING: "GROUPS OF BUSINESS LEADERS - RIO" GENERAL VIEW OF EVENT BUSINESSMEN REPRESENTATIVE AND PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL'S OLYMPIC COMMITTEE, CARLOS ARTHUR NUZMAN, AT EVENT RIO DE JANEIRO MAYOR, EDUARDO PAES, AT EVENT GENERAL VIEW OF LUNCH CAMERAMAN (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) RIO DE JANEIRO MAYOR, EDUARDO PAES, SAYING: "What I can say to you here, ladies and gentlemen, with all tranquillity, is that Rio de Janeiro will deliver the best Olympic Games in history, we have a great calendar." AUDIENCE APPLAUDING NUZMAN SPEAKING TO BUSINESSMAN (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL AND RIO DE JANEIRO'S OLYMPIC COMMITTEES, CARLOS ARTHUR NUZMAN, SAYING: "I hope that we can do important works for our airports to be on the same level as the world's best airports. I don't think we should open the city's door to welcome athletes, delegations, media professionals and tourists in the way that we receive them today." NUZMAN LEAVING EVENT
  • Embargoed: 18th June 2010 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA539S6307F0CL5CJQ3ZSKVA6J2
  • Story Text: Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes says the city will be ready for the 2016 Olympic Games as Brazil's Olympic Committee president warns about airport conditions.
    Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes guaranteed on Wednesday (June 2) that the city will meet deadlines for the 2016 Olympics.
    Paes and President of Brazil's Olympic Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, met with businessmen to discuss investment opportunities that will sprout in the city during the major sporting event.
    Nuzman and Paes presented Rio's plans for roughly a hundred entrepreneurs in the traditional Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro.
    Delegates from the International Olympic Committee's Coordination Commission visited Rio last month to assess preps for the Olympics.
    After meeting authorities and touring sporting venues, the commission said Rio was on the right track to host the event, but stressed that there was still a lot of work ahead of the city.
    Paes told the audience that Rio's schedule was well planned.
    "What I can say to you here, ladies and gentlemen, with all tranquillity, is that Rio de Janeiro will deliver the best Olympic Games in history, we have a great calendar," he said.
    During the city's bid to host the Games, shortage of accommodation, lack of infrastructure and security raised concerns.
    According to organizers, Rio would need a $5 billion upgrade in its transport system to be ready for the Olympics.
    After the event, Nuzman said that improving airports was a top priority.
    "I hope that we can do important work for our airports to be on the same level as the world's best airports. I don't think we should open the city's door to welcome athletes, delegations, media professionals and tourists in the way that we receive them today," he told reporters.
    Some 380,000 tourists are expected to flock to Rio during the 2016 Games.
    Rio's successful bid to host the 2016 Olympics will bring the world's biggest sporting event to South America for the first time.
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