Highlights

As Rio de Janeiro celebrated the five-year countdown to the opening of the 2016 Olympic Games on 5 August the Mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, signed a decree to create the Empresa Olímpica Municipal (EOM), the body that will work with the municipal government to coordinate construction work and legacy plans for all Olympic-related construction in the city. EOM President Maria Silvia Bastos said her

first task would be to set out the responsibilities of the three levels of government.

As part of the five-year celebrations the first Olympic venue was officially inaugurated. The Athletes’

Park in Barra de Tijuca, adjacent to what will become the Athletes’ Village, will be a leisure area for

Olympic competitors in 2016. Before this time it will be used for a number of events including the Rock in

Rio festival.

A jury has chosen British company Aecom to design the Olympic Park, which covers almost 1.2 million

Square meters in Barra da Tijuca. Aecom, which produced the design for London’s Olympic Park, was

Chosen from among 60 submissions because of its focus on legacy and sustainability.

On 5 August a ceremony took place at Rio de Janeiro’s City Palace to mark the five-year countdown to

the opening of the 2016 Olympic Games.

IOC member Carlos Arthur Nuzman, President of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, said: “Today we

Already experience the transforming power of the Games.” He pointed to the beginning of work to

Improve the city’s transport links, the pacification of a growing number of slums, and greater interest

Being taken in cleaning up the environment.

On the same day, the first new venue to be completed for the 2016 Olympic Games was opened. The

Athletes’ Park, 300 meters from the site of the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Barra da Tijuca, will be use as a leisure area by competing athletes during the Games. Prior to this, the site will host the Rock in Rio festival and other events.

Carlos Villanova, Rio 2016’s Director of Communications, said: “We are very comfortable with five years to go but, the main area that is a massive challenge is transport. Luckily the airport will be ready by the World Cup but there are of course some areas that will only be ready for the Olympics. Luckily again, if there is any need for further development, we’ll have another two years.”

Empresa Olímpica Municipal President vows to allocate responsibilities

Coinciding with the celebration of the five-year countdown to the 2016 Olympic Games, Rio Mayor

Eduardo Paes signed a decree creating the Empresa Olímpica Municipal (EOM), the body that will work in conjunction with the municipal administration to prepare Rio for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The body will also define, monitor and publish information about the legacy of the events for the city, and sign contracts and agreements for construction work andmaintenance. The EOM will operate for a fixed term until 31 December 2016.

EOM President Maria Silvia Bastos said that her first challenge would be to establish a framework of responsibility to which all levels of government and the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee would sign up.

“We all know what our responsibilities are by heart. Everything is already clearly mapped out. But we have to make this more official so that everyone understands what each party’s responsibilities are, “she said.

Mayor Eduardo Paes called Ms Bastos the “Mayor” of the Olympic Games. “We have the city to look after on a day-to-day basis while maintaining a parallel structure to take care of preparations for the

Olympic Games,” he said. “One of the legacies of the organization of the Games will be the improvement in communications and an expanded public transport network.”

The EOM will take over the role previously assumed by Institutor Rio 2014/2016, created last April.

Olympic Public Authority to operate with smaller staff

Márcio Fortes, the President of the Olympic Public Authority (APO), has pledged that the body will have a leaner structure than originally envisaged; only around one third of the 181 posts authorized by Congress will be filled.

The APO is responsible for coordinating projects related to the 2016 Olympic Games.

According to Mr. Fortes, the Authority is due to officially start operating in mid-August, once its statutes have been defined and the proportion of investment by the Federal, State and municipal authorities

Confirmed. Formal constitution of the APO has been delayed by over a year, but Mr Fortes says that the body has already begun to work. The APO is currently considering projects totaling USD 26 billion (BRL 41.5 billion), although the cost of

Infrastructure development for the Games will likely be considerably less as not all projects will be given the go-ahead. The APO will not have a hands-on role in individual projects, except in the event of a

crisis.

FIFA to propose introduction of beach soccer at 2016 Games

FIFA President Sepp Blatter, an IOC member, has said he will ask the IOC to include beach soccer in the programmed of the 2016 Olympic Games. Mr Blatter has the backing of Carlos Arthur Nuzman, Rio

2016 President and head of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, who is also an IOC member, and Ricardo Teixeira, President of the Brazilian Football Federation and of the Organizing Committee for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Mr Blatter plans to submit the proposal to the IOC Session in Buenos Airesin 2013. Although it is not

possible to alter the number of Olympic sports, the Session could allow beach soccer to be included as

part of the discipline of football.

The President of the Brazilian Beach Soccer Federation, Marcos Spironelli, said: “The possibility of our sport being included in the 2016 Olympic programme in Rio de Janeiro, the cradle of the sport, is great news, it would be a dream come true.”

Security

Security a concern for both World Cup and Games

The Brazilian government is to create a Special Secretariat for Large Events to handle security for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016.

The secretariat, which will report directly to the Ministry of Justice, is to bring together the work of the authorities responsible for security from the state police and armed forces. Under the plan the government will create command centers to coordinate security operations in each of the 12 cities that will host matches during the World Cup in 2014.

The command centre in Rio de Janeiro will remain in operation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016, and the one in the country’s capital,Brasilia, will become permanent, managing national security as legacy for the Brazilian public. The government’s action comes amid concerns over the pace of security preparations for both the World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympics Games. The advisor to the Ministry of Sport for the organization of the 2014 World Cup, Alcino Rocha, said work on the security plan was in its “final phase”, but was “delicate.”In July, Sports Minister Orlando Silva was forced to issue an assurance that “security is on our radar; our next resolution will be for a security plan”, after armed robbers stormed the Santa Teresa Hotel in Rio de Janeiro and stole from guests, including executives from sportswear brand Nike who were attending the World Military Games. The fatal shooting of 11-year-old Juan Moraes by a police officer in Rio de Janeiro in July, and the killing in August of a prominent judge, Patricia Lourival Acioli, in a suspected revenge attack by local militia gunmen, have prompted some critics to express concern over Rio’s policing. Over the last five years city police have killed an average of more than three people a day. In addition, militia made up of off-duty police officers and firefighters have become more prominent in slum areas. Security experts warn that whilst security around World Cup and Olympic venues may be tight, the day to-day safety of visitors around the host cities could still present problems. The former head of Special Operations for Rio’s military police, Paulo Storini, told media agency Agency France-Presse that the Brazilian government should already have started investing in modernizing operational centre’s and security equipment for both sporting events. “It will do it in a hurry and pay too high a price for it,” he warned.

Venues

British firm wins Olympic Park design competition

A British company has won the competition to design the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Park. Designers from Aecom, the company behind the master plan for the London 2012 Olympic Park, produced plans to radically transform the site of the Olympic Park, currently mostly occupied by the Jacarepaguá motor racing circuit, which covers nearly 1.2 million square meters in the Barra da Tijuca district of the city. The company will receive a prize of BRL 100,000 (USD 63,000) and produce a design for all the public areas of the Park.

The Aecom project was inspired by Rio’s iconic sites, including the Copacabana boardwalk, which is to be recreated in one of the Olympic Park’s avenues. The judging panel selected the British entry out of

60 submissions from 18 different countries, mainly because of its focus on environmental protection, the ease of maintenance of its facilities and the conservation of Jacarepaguá Lake.

Aecom designer Adam Williams said that the plan would offer long-term benefits to Rio: “It will be an incredible experience. We will take all the knowledge we have acquired in the construction of the

London project and do it better.” The Olympic Park will host 15 Olympic and 11 Paralympic sports as well as the Main Press Centre for 20,000 journalists.

Workers strike at Maracanã stadium over conditions and pay

Nearly 2,000 workers who are renovating Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã football stadium for the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 went on strike for 48 hours in August after

Complaining of hazardous working conditions and poor pay.

The stadium is currently undergoing a complete refurbishment to ensure it meets the standards set by FIFA.Stadium construction workers walked out when a colleague was injured after an oil barrel containing chemicals exploded near him. They held a demonstration outside the stadium to call for better Conditions, fairer health care provision and higher wages. “We must improve our working conditions which are not ideal, “said union leader Romildo da Silva.“We’ll only return to work when our demands have been heard.”

The Rio de Janeiro State Public Works said the workers’ issues were being considered.

The strike is the second to hit World Cup preparations after workers at the Mineirao stadium in Belo Horizonte, one of the 12 host cities, took strike action in June. Critics have raised concerns that the stadiums will not be ready in time for the event.

Site chosen for Olympic golf tournament

A site in the southern suburbs of Rio de Janeiro has been chosen to host the golf tournament at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Golf’s governing body, the Royal and Ancient (R&A), confirmed in July that the Riserva Uno site will see golf’s return to the Olympic programme for the first time since 1904. The site is close to the Olympic Village in the Barra area of Rio. R&A Chief Executive Peter Dawson said an architect had yet to be appointed to design the course. He admitted, however, that the schedule was tight if the course was to be ready for testing before the Games.“In order to be in time we need to get the architect appointed, his designs approved and start breaking ground in 2012 in order to make the timetable for a 2015 test event,” he said.

Proposed Caio Martins sports complex renovation opens door to Games use

According to Federal Sports Minister Orlando Silva, the Brazilian government wants to invest in renovating the Caio Martins sports complex in theNiterói district of Rio de Janeiro. The objective is to upgrade the gymnasium and Olympic-sized swimming pool, however no funds are earmarked for improvements to the football stadium. The renovation of the 70-year-old facility could lead to the complex being considered as a venue for Olympic and Paralympic events in 2016.According to Federal Member of Parliament Chico D’Angelo: “The Minister definitely included Caio Martins in the overall project of sports venues with prospects for the Olympic Games. The complex could be considered as a result of its good location.” The Mayor of Niterói, Jorge Roberto Silveira, nevertheless rejected the suggestion made by Rio State Governor Sérgio Cabral that the municipality could take over responsibility for the sports complex, saying that Niterói could not contribute to the costs of renovating the venue.

Transport

Private bidders show interest in airport auction later this year

Brazil’s Minister for Civil Aviation, Wagner Bettencourt, has confirmed in a radio interview that an auction of three of the country’s largest airports has already attracted interest from the private sector.

State-owned airport operator Infrared has put up for auction an airport in the country’s capital, Brasilia, and two in São Paulo. The auction will take place at the end of the year and the winning bidder will be announced in February 2012.Infraero’s action was prompted by an annual growth in air traffic of around 20 per cent a year, and forms part of the Brazilian government’s plan to modernize the country’s infrastructure by encouraging private investment. Infrared will keep a minority stake of 49% in the three airports.“They are very good airports with a potential for growth – some better than others – and potential for good returns,” said Mr. Bittencourt.Sports Minister Orlando Silva confirmed that the federal government had pledged to invest BRL 5.5 billion (USD 3.4 billion) up to 2014 in improving the country’s biggest airports, over and above any private investment.

“The World Cup has an investment programmed of BRL 5.5 billion for improving the airports. This programmer will go ahead independently of any concession. What President Dilma wants to achieve with the concessions is … to improve the quality of services in Brazilian airports, not with a view to the World

Cup, but with a view to providing a service to the Brazilian public,” said Mr Silva.

Investors shy away from bullet train project before Games

The Brazilian government is to auction the rights to build a high-speed bullet train between Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo for a second time, after an auction in July failed to attract any bids from private investors.

The auction, which has already been delayed on two previous occasions due to a lack of interest, will now be redrafted and presented in two separate stages next year in a bid to encourage local and foreign

Companies to get involved. President Dilma Rousseff had hoped the train would be built in time for the Olympic and Paralympics

Games in 2016, but its high cost – estimated at between BRL 32 billion (USD 20 billion) and BRL 64 billion (USD 40 billion) - and doubts over its profitability have deterred investors. The train, which would link the two cities in an hour and a half, would be one of the most ambitious

Transport projects the government has undertaken. Critics say, however, that the cities are already well connected by commercial flights that take less than an hour.

Environment and Sustainability

Environmentalist urges better progress on Baía de Guanabara cleanup

The environmentalist David Zee, a professor at Universidad do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, has warned that the project to clean up the Baía de Guanabara still requires a great deal of work if it is to achieve its objective before the 2016 Olympic Games. “There is a lot of good intention, a lot of goodwill, but when it comes to specific, effective action, there is not much to see,” he said. Mr. Zee called for joint action by municipal and state governments, with the backing of the federal government, in order to tackle the problem of pollution in the bay, which will be used for Olympic sailing events.An agreement between the state government and the Inter-American Development Bank has been concluded to assist the environmental recovery of Baía de Guanabara. The agreement forms part of a

package announced by Rio State Governor Sérgio Cabral that will direct funds of approximately USD 625 million (BRL 1 billion) towards measures to reduce pollution and treat waste. The Rio State

Secretary for the Environment, Carlos Minc, confirmed that the target was to double waste treatment over four years and encourage the growth of mangroves. “Many cleanup projects will come together as we approach the Olympic Games. We think we will manage to achieve our objectives. This is a period of great opportunity for Rio.”

The State government and Rio city authorities are to sign an agreement to oversee the introduction of water supply and waste treatment services to all the city’s slums by 2020. The programmer will initially target 133 favelas, benefiting some 400,000 people. According to Carlos Minc this should assist in reducing waste emissions into the Baía de Guanabara.

Axel Grael, President of Projeto Grael, a scheme that promotes educational programmers through sailing, recognized the efforts being made but said: “If the Olympic Games were held today, the sailing facilities at Baía de Guanabara would perhaps be the dirtiest and most polluted in Olympic history. A huge effort is required between now and 2016.”

Economy

World Cup and Games to attract record investment

The FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016 are likely to attract private investment of around BRL 53 billion (USD 34 billion) according to a report by professional services company PwC. Speaking at a panel debate in July on Olympic investment opportunities, the global leader for cities and local government at PwC, Hazem Galal, said: “It’s going to be bigger than other [host] cities.” PwC predicts that the largest investments will be in infrastructure development and tourism. The number

of foreign visitors to Rio de Janeiro is expected to double to four million by 2016, and a number of construction projects are under way to modernize sporting venues, build facilities and upgrade transport

Systems before both events. In addition, more than 90,000 jobs should be created in Rio, including 35,400 permanent positions.

The international director for Rio Negocios, Michael Charlton, who is responsible for promoting the city ahead of the World Cup and Olympic Games said: “The ability to use both the World Cup and Olympics as a platform to enhance brand awareness of what’s happening in Rio and in Brazil is just amazing.”

National Sports Politics

Brazilian sports federations lament delayed funding

Brazilian sports federations have complained of delays in receiving the funding promised by the Federal government. The Ministry of Sport has disbursed USD 20.6 million (BRL 33.1 million) to national federations in the last two months in an effort to catch up. The Brazilian Olympic Committee alone is still awaiting government funding of USD 7 million (BRL 11.2 million). Most of these funds were due to be released in December 2010 but are only now being made available. Leaders of national governing bodies in Olympic sports have warned that funding delays are affecting their ability to deliver the targeted programmers that are necessary to ensure that the Brazilian team

Performs well at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Nuzman expresses concern over delays in setting up doping control agency

Rio 2016 President, IOC member Carlos Arthur Nuzman, has expressed his deep concern over the delays in setting up the Brazilian Doping Control Agency (ABCD), a requirement of the IOC if Brazil is to use the Ladetec laboratory at Rio de Janeiro Federal University for doping controls during the 2016

Games.“The World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Olympic Committee set a deadline of November this year for the Federal government to set up ABCD, failing which Brazil would be in contravention of the World Anti-Doping Code,” said Mr.Nuzman. “If Ladetec loses its accreditation, a foreign accredited laboratory will have to be used and there will be no technical legacy for doping control in Brazil,” he continued.

The Brazilian Ministry of Sport is responsible for setting up the ABCD.

Miscellaneous

FIFA preliminary draw goes ahead against background of concerns over

preparations

The Preliminary Draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil took place in Rio de Janeiro on 30 July.Protesters made their presence known at the event, but were kept at bay by the police. Many protesters wanted to bring attention to the displacement of families due to road widening projects and the building of the Transcarioca Bus Rapid Transit line. A spokesman for the protesters, Professor Marcelo Braga Edmundo of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, said that 20,000 people would be forced to leave

their homes as a result of infrastructure improvements for the World Cup and Olympic Games. Others were campaigning against the expense of hosting the tournament and the high cost of event tickets. FIFA has expressed its concern at the slow pace of preparations for the 2014 World Cup amid fears that some venues will not be ready until shortly before the first match of the tournament. This includes Rio de Janeiro’s Maracanã Stadium, selected as the venue for the final, pending confirmation by FIFA in October. Icaro Moreno Junior, in charge of the Maracanã renovation project, said: “Obviously the new capacity will be nothing like the old, but we will have 80,000 in a brand new stadium with state-of-the-art facilities, with a fabulous sound system, lighting, everything you see in a modern multi-purpose stadium.

At the moment we have 1,600 workers, but in a few months this will increase to 4,500 working round the-clock, 80 per cent at daytime, 20 per cent at night.” The Organizing Committee believes the stadium will be ready in time after its USD 625 million refit.FIFA is also concerned about the capacity of Brazil’s airports. Federal Sports Minister Orlando Silva said that upgrading Brazil’s airports and improving urban transport remained the biggest challenge in the run-up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.A report by the Getulio Vargas Foundation and consultancy Ernst & Young Terco estimates an additional 2.25 million passengers will pass through Brazilian airports in the period of the World Cup.

According to the report, investment of USD 777 million will be made. Other official reports warn that nine of the 13 airports being expanded for the World Cup may not be ready on time.

The FIFA General Secretary Jérôme Valcke said in June 2011: “They have much still to deliver. We do not have the stadia, airports, or a national transportation system in place. Brazil is not ready for a World Cup tomorrow, as was the case with South Africa two years before the event.”

Sports journalist Celso Unzelte has warned that Brazil’s “structural problems...won’t get resolved in three years.” “The event will go ahead as FIFA dropped the level of its demands,” he said.

Rio hosts fifth World Military Games; glitches to help in Olympic preparations

Rio de Janeiro hosted the fifth CISM World Military Games from 16 to 24 July, bringing nearly 4,000 athletes from 112 countries to take part in a variety of competitions.

The event gave the city the opportunity to test its readiness for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016. Fifteen of the sporting events in the World Military Games are also Olympic disciplines. Security preparations involved 10,000 personnel who had been trained to deal with situations including a

terrorist attack.According to the Director of High Performance Sports within the Department of Sports, Marco Aurelio

Klein, the Games exceeded his expectations and won “words of approval” from members of the competing sporting delegations.Some athletes complained, however, that transport between the athletes’ villages and the sporting venues was unreliable. Journalists said there had been no transport at all to some of the events, and that volunteers had been unable to provide them with information about bus timetables and other means of travelling around the city. Others had been frustrated by poor internet and WiFi access.