BRAZIL: OLYMPICS: Delegation from International Olympic Committee tours 2016 Olympic facilities in Rio
Record ID:
331872
BRAZIL: OLYMPICS: Delegation from International Olympic Committee tours 2016 Olympic facilities in Rio
- Title: BRAZIL: OLYMPICS: Delegation from International Olympic Committee tours 2016 Olympic facilities in Rio
- Date: 20th March 2014
- Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (MARCH 20, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF OLYMPIC PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION VARIOUS OF CONSTRUCTION SITE CLOSE-UP OF DIGITAL GRAPHIC OF FUTURE OLYMPIC PARK IOC COMMITTEE MEMBER RIO MAYOR EDUARDO PAES, EXPLAINING TO IOC COMMITTEE MEMBERS, THE WORK BEING DONE IN THE DISTANCE CLOSE-UP OF COMMITTEE MEMBER PAES AND IOC COMMITTEE POSE FOR PHOTOS PAES WITH IOC COMMITTEE VARIOUS OF PAES AND IOC COMMITTEE EXITING THE CONSTRUCTION SITE AND GETTING ONTO A BUS
- Embargoed: 4th April 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVA8KQU7QC45W6OVNFLQJPKAYPTL
- Story Text: The International Olympic Committee's inspection commission visited the future Olympic Park for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games on Thursday (March 20).
With only 868 days to go until competition begins, the commission is in Rio through Friday (March 21) to assess the city's progress and plans. This is the sixth visit to Rio the commission has made.
The three-day tour kicked off with meetings on Wednesday (March 19) where Rio mayor Eduardo Paes admitted to IOC officials that construction has fallen behind schedule on several venues.
Paes made his comments as head of the inspection committee, Nawal El Moutawakel applauded the "meticulous planning" demonstrated by Russia in its hosting of the Sochi Winter Games.
Rio has been the target of criticism and concern as many worry whether the city will be able to prepare itself in time to host the games in 2016.
For the self-appointed 'Marvelous City' to be ready it will have to build and modernize a great deal more infrastructure than London had to for the 2012 Summer Games.
Pressure on Rio has been mounting and the IOC has stated publicly the city has no more time to waste.
Part of the work in Barra da Tijuca involves building a 23-kilometer connecting expressway, dubbed the Trans Olympic, which will directly join the Olympic Park and Village in Barra da Tijuca with the Radical Park in western Rio's Deodoro neighborhood where competition for many equestrian and cycling events will be held.
The Barra da Tijuca Olympic Park will host 16 different Olympic sports and ten Paralympic events.
Construction on the Tennis Center, International Transmission Center, three sports pavilions and the Press Center are already underway in Barra da Tijuca.
Scheduled works to begin soon this year include the velodrome, Olympic Hall 4 and the Olympic Sports Aquatic Stadium.
Work is progressing but there remains much to be done.
Despite delays, the Barra de Tijuca complex is not the biggest concern.
Rio organisers have yet to begin construction on what will be the second-largest Olympic Park - the Deodoro venue cluster.
Arguing over which segment of the local government is in charge of realizing Deodoro's construction has been a major reason for the delay.
The IOC committee is urging Rio's local organizers on the importance of both meeting deadlines and convincing the public of the sporting event's benefit to the city.
Since a wave of protests last June the climate has been tense in terms of public spending.
Many disagree with the $11 billion that will be spent on the upcoming World Cup and the $15 billion of public and private money that will be spent on the Olympics when public transportation is viewed as dismal by many and large sections of society still lack proper education and health care.
Local organizers believe they can make future deadlines despite being on a tight schedule. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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