- Title: BRAZIL: RIO OLYMPICS 2016 - London passes the Olympic baton to Rio
- Date: 18th November 2012
- Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (NOVEMBER 18, 2012) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF BARRA DA TIJUCA BEACH, WHERE RIO DE JANEIRO AND LONDON'S OLYMPIC ORGANISERS WERE MEETING TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE GAMES SURFERS EXTERIOR OF HOTEL WHERE MEETINGS WERE TAKING PLACE BIG SCREEN IN CONFERENCE ROOM READING: "INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE - IOC DEBRIEFING OF THE LONDON 2012 GAMES" VARIOUS OF PARTICIPANTS ARRIVING IN AUDITORIUM PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL'S OLYMPIC COMMITTEE CARLOS NUZMAN (WEARING GLASSES) GREETING MEMBERS OF LONDON'S OLYMPIC COMMITTEE IN AUDITORIUM VIDEO DISPLAYED IN CONFERENCE OPENING THE LONDON ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES CHAIRMAN SEBASTIAN COE (PINK SHIRT) AND NUZMAN WALKING ONTO STAGE COE HANDING OLYMPIC BATON TO NUZMAN NUZMAN AND COE POSING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS CAMERAMAN COE AND NUZMAN TALKING TO JOURNALISTS AS THEY GET READY TO POSE FOR PHOTOGRAPHS WITH THE OLYMPIC BATON THE OLYMPIC FLAG COE AND NUZMAN POSING WITH OLYMPIC BATON CLOSE OF NUZMAN CLOSE OF BATON BRAZIL FLAG
- Embargoed: 3rd December 2012 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA5XJN0AJDQA7NKZ7EEL0WPSX85
- Story Text: The president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee Carlos Nuzman officially received the Games baton on Sunday (November 18) as Rio de Janeiro and London organisers sat to share knowledge about the Olympic Games.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games chairman Sebastian Coe handed Nuzman a symbolic baton as discussions about the planning of the Games began in a beachfront hotel in Rio.
The five-day debriefing conference comes only two months after a scandal broke out between the two committees, when British officials discovered that Brazilian members had secretly copied some of their files. Nuzman acknowledged the breach and fired 10 people.
Nuzman, who was recently re-elected after a 16-year leadership, is also coming under scrutiny for refusing to relinquish a separate position as the head of the organising committee for the Rio Games.
Opponents say the two positions are too important and the budgets too large to be controlled by the same person.
The Brazilian city's efforts are also being overshadowed by construction delays, cost overruns and overburdened airports, roads and subway lines.
Even after a recent economic boom in the South American giant, with soaring investment because of the 2014 World Cup and Olympic Games, Rio remains pockmarked by poor development.
Rio's organising committee is facing many obstacles and are struggling to have venues to completed in time.
The city recently announced that its planned rugby stadium had failed to meet a deadline to present its guarantees and would no longer be an option for the tournament.
International Olympic Committee executive director Gilbert Felli and other top IOC officials are attending the meeting, although President Jacques Rogge was advised not to take such a long flight after the Belgian's hip replacement surgery in September.
The conference is set to close on Wednesday (November 21). - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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