BRAZIL/FILE: Rio de Janeiro's Mayor Eduardo Paes says Brazil will help renew Olympic Games

Record ID: 329482

  • Title: BRAZIL/FILE: Rio de Janeiro's Mayor Eduardo Paes says Brazil will help renew Olympic Games
  • Date: 2nd September 2009
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (FILE) (REUTERS) PANORAMIC VIEW OF INTERIOR OF JOAO HAVELANGE SOCCER STADIUM VARIOUS OF MARACANA SOCCER STADIUM VARIOUS OF SWIMMING ARENAS AERIAL VIEW OF BARRA DA TIJUCA BEACH AERIAL VIEW OF SUGARLOAF HILLS
  • Embargoed: 17th September 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA48E1TKLP3CSEJ4OONPEJM997E
  • Story Text: Rio de Janeiro's mayor Eduardo Paes told Reuters on Tuesday (September 1) that the city has a "realistic" bid to host the 2016 Olympics and that the event needs to expand its boundaries to other continents.
    With a friendly bid campaign that convokes natives cariocas to "live their passion", the city known for its beaches, slums, soccer and caipirinhas, pitches to take the Olympic and Paralympic Games to South America for the first time.
    Rio claims to be the most picturesque and romantic choice when it goes up against Chicago, Madrid, and Tokyo in the final International Olympic Committee (IOC) vote in Copenhagen on Oct. 2.
    During the interview, Paes talked about the Olympics spirit and said that such an event in Rio would allow South America to be a part of the Olympic movement.
    "The Olympic movement will benefit a lot with the possibility of Rio hosting the Olympics. The Olympic movement means social inclusion, integration between people, it has to do with expanding itself worldwide, being present in every continent. South America has never hosted the Olympic Games and the impact of an Olympic Games in a city like Rio de Janeiro, in a country like Brazil, is a fantastic impact. And this is a new audience, (made of) people who have always been distant from the Olympic movement, from the Olympic dream, and who are going to be a part of that (Olympic movement) now," he said.
    The mayor made comments about the city's budget and said that most of the upgrades to Rio's infrastructure were planned anyway, reducing the chances of major cost overruns.
    "It is a realistic proposal. When we talk about some $10.5 billion dollars, these $10.5 billion do not come from public resources, they are not some $10.5 billion of fresh money. (The total budget) is $10.5 billion because we wanted to include absolutely everything that affects the Olympic Games, independent of the Olympic Games, we would already use that money (for such reasons)," he said.
    Paes also emphasized the appeal of staging the first Olympics in South America.
    "It is a dispute that includes continents such as North America, which already hosted five, six, seven Games, including Summer and Winter ones, the European continent which has already hosted twenty Games, the Asian continent has already hosted the Olympics. Japan, specifically, has already hosted the Olympics. (With an Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro) The Olympic movement opens itself to a new part of the world, where there has never been an Olympic Games before, that is, in South America," he said.
    Brazil's quick rebound from recession this year has boosted Rio's bid by showing Brazil's new-found economic resilience. While the United States, Japan, and Spain were hit hard by the crisis, the South American giant got off relatively lightly.
    Rio will also benefit from several facilities that were set for the 2007 Pan American Games and from those that are yet to be updated for the 2014 World Cup.
    But even with these legacies, the city will need to inject billions into infrastructure projects as it is the least prepared in terms of infrastructure and sports venues, with only 29 percent of the facilities demanded by the IOC in place and another 24 percent needing modernization.
    Rio also faces concerns over a high crime rate and its transport system, which would need a $5 billion upgrade to be ready for the Olympics according to organizers.
    Hundreds of slums in Rio are controlled by heavily armed drug traffickers, many within a stone's throw of tourist areas such as Ipanema and Copacabana beaches.
    City residents that deal with those challenges everyday have doubts if the city is able to host the event.
    "I think the violence issue (is a challenge), the urban violence is scary. There is also the transportation issue, we must be certain the city is ready to receive tourists," Rio resident Vania Soares said.
    Others believe that Rio's sportive spirit will be a perfect fit for the Olympics.
    "It (the Olympic Games) is an important event, especially for Rio, where there is a strong sports culture. Not only the soccer (culture), but other sports too. So, I think this (the Olympic Games) is very important for Rio and for Brazil too," said Thiago Curvello.
    If Rio wins, the government will build four venue clusters and use its natural landmarks for competitions.
    Beach volleyball matches would take place at the worldwide famous Copacabana beach and sailing competitions would be held in Marina da Gloria harbor, in front of the Sugarloaf hills.
    At Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, a lagoon that lies in the city's heart, rowing, canoe and kayak competitions would be held.
    The beach-side city of Bossa Nova and Carnival, in the final four cities for the first time after two failed attempts, is seen as having a good chance of winning one of the most open races in years.
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