BRAZIL: OLYMPICS: International Olympic Committee finalizes tour of Rio facilities

Record ID: 331873

  • Title: BRAZIL: OLYMPICS: International Olympic Committee finalizes tour of Rio facilities
  • Date: 21st March 2014
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (MARCH 21, 2014) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF LOCAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE OFFICES VARIOUS OF NEWS CONFERENCE BEGINNING AND IOC INSPECTION COMMISSION PRESIDENT, NAWAL EL MOUTAWAKEL, SITTING DOWN GENERAL OF AUDIENCE VIEW OF PANEL PHOTOGRAPHER TAKING PHOTOS (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOC INSPECTION COMMISSION PRESIDENT, NAWAL EL MOUTAWAKEL, SAYING: "A number of positive impacts from the games were presented to us also. With public transport used, is expected to go higher than 68 percent by 2016 which is up to 12 today, an estimated sevenfold increase in treated sewage around the Guanabara Bay by 2015, and a million people getting the opportunity to learn English thanks to the Olympic Games and finally 75 new hotels are expected to be built creating an estimated 11,000 new jobs." GENERAL OF AUDIENCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOC INSPECTION COMMISSION PRESIDENT, NAWAL EL MOUTAWAKEL, SAYING: "We have been given assurances and confirmation that the Guanabara Bay will be cleaned for the athletes, one more time for their safety and security." GENERAL OF CROWD NEWS CONFERENCE ENDING RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (MARCH 20, 2014) (REUTERS) CLOSE-UP OF DIGITAL REPRESENTATION OF FUTURE OLYMPIC PARK VARIOUS OF FUTURE OLYMPIC PARK
  • Embargoed: 5th April 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA9DG5L02NUJSP3YKX2U80YAJFS
  • Story Text: The International Olympic Committee's inspection commission wrapped up on Friday (March 21) its first visit to Rio de Janeiro, host of the 2016 Olympic Games since the conclusion of the Sochi Winter Games.
    With only 867 days to go until competition begins, the IOC commission was in Rio to spend three days assessing the city's progress and plans.
    The three-day tour kicked off with a sour note on Wednesday (March 19) when Rio mayor Eduardo Paes admitted to IOC officials that construction has fallen behind schedule on several venues.
    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.
    At one point on Friday, IOC inspection committee president Nawal El Moutawakel focused on the positive role the games will play in Rio's development.

    "A number of positive impacts from the games were presented to us also. With public transport used, is expected to go higher than 68 percent by 2016 which is up to 12 today, an estimated sevenfold increase in treated sewage around the Guanabara Bay by 2015, and a million people getting the opportunity to learn English thanks to the Olympic Games and finally 75 new hotels are expected to be built creating an estimated 11,000 new jobs," Moutawakel said.
    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 in Brazil has been tense in terms of public spending for events like the upcoming World Cup and Olympics.
    Moutawakel also addressed the criticism Rio continues to face locally and abroad that the bodies of water it plans to use for competition in the 2016 Olympic Games are too polluted to host events.

    "We have been given assurances and confirmation that the Guanabara Bay will be cleaned for the athletes, one more time for their safety and security," Moutawakel said.
    The body of water raising the most concerns is Guanabara Bay, which will play host to sailing events in the 2016 Olympics.
    Untreated sewage and trash frequently find their way into the bay.
    Although there is still much work to be done construction on the future Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca is well underway.
    The IOC commission toured the massive building site on Thursday (March 20).
    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.
    Scheduled works to begin soon this year include the velodrome, Olympic Hall 4 and the Olympic Sports Aquatic Stadium.
    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.
    Local organizers believe they can make future deadlines despite being on a tight schedule.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register