Rio gets ready for 2016 Games

REUTERS

The London Games closing ceremony featured a cast of 3 500 volunteers

RIO DE JANEIRO: The snuffing out of the Olympic flame in London last night marks a conclusion for most, but for 2016 host city Rio de Janeiro it starts four years of pre-Games jitters and a race against the clock to ready this laid-back beach city for the global sports showcase.

Playing Olympic host is a high-stakes bet for any country, but Brazil seems to have more riding on the Games than most.

The nation has enjoyed an economic surge over the past decade, a boom that saw it overtake Britain as the world’s sixth biggest economy. Brazilians regard the Olympics as their grand entrance on to the world stage – and their emergence as a superpower.

Still, observers say efficiency and punctuality have never been the country’s strong suit, and many are bracing for a rocky ride as Rio rushes to build the city’s four main Olympic sites and undertakes a massive pre-Games infrastructure overhaul. Rio is also one of 12 Brazilian cities gearing up to host the World Cup football tournament in 2014.

“We can expect…cost overruns and a rush to push through projects. Cariocas (Rio residents) will see their cost of living increase, their streets clogged and the branding of their public spaces,” said Christopher Gaffney, an American academic who’s a visiting professor at the graduate school of architecture and urban planning at the Fluminense Federal University in Rio’s sister city, Niteroi. His research focuses on preparations for the World Cup and Olympics.

“While the Brazilians will undoubtedly pull together a great party, the hangover will last for a generation,” he said.

More than 230 projects are scheduled to be finished by the 2016 Games, with the sports venues scheduled for delivery between mid-2015 and early 2016 for test events, according to the International Olympic Committee. Of those, over 65 have already been completed or are in the final stages.

That leaves a high volume of projects to be carried out simultaneously over the next four years – a feat that even Rio 2016 organisers acknowledge is tricky.

“Time is an adversary, but time is also on our side,” Leonardo Gryner, CEO of the Rio 2016 organising committee, said at a news conference on Friday.

“We’ll get a few cold sweats, but this is normal. We are on time and going according to schedule.” – Sapa-AP