Workers are pictured at the construction site of the Rio 2016 Olympic Tennis venue at the Rio 2016 Olympic Park in |
GAMES ORGANIZATION
Rio 2016 organizers have avoided many of the problems that beset the World Cup in
Last week city officials said that the construction of
Five of the nine venues at the park are ready: Arena Carioca 1 (basketball), Arena Carioca 2 (judo, wrestling), Arena Carioca 3 (taekwondo, fencing), Future Arena (handball) and the aquatic center (swimming). Work on the athletes' village, media facilities and the Olympic Park hotel has also been completed.
Despite the encouraging progress at most Olympic facilities, not everything has gone to plan. Work is ongoing at the velodrome, a warmup pool at the Maria Lenk Aquatic center and two tennis courts.
City officials have said that the velodrome - the least advanced Rio 2016 venue - will be ready by mid-July, more than six months behind schedule.
Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff attends a news conference with foreign media in |
POLITICAL CRISIS, RECESSION
In May,
Political turbulence has coincided with a massive corruption scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras that has tipped
Olympic flame second torch bearer, former volleyball player Giovane Gavio from |
CITY INFRASTRUCTURE
While swathes of
Asphalt for new express bus lanes to Olympic venues has been laid while a road featuring
Refurbishment work at
But there is still doubt over whether a new metro line connecting the city to Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca will be ready in time.
Some of the new stations are yet to open and engineers are still conducting tests along the
Laborers are also scrambling to finish a new tram line linking
Infrastructure concerns were heightened in April when an elevated bicycle track collapsed into the sea, killing two people.
Workers are pictured at the construction site of the Rio 2016 Olympic Tennis venue at the Rio 2016 Olympic Park in |
SECURITY
Days after Dornelles declared a financial emergency, the federal government agreed toprovide the state with 850 million US dollars in emergency funds to guarantee security during the Games.
Earlier this year
In May, Dornelles issued a request for the federal government to deploy national armed forces in the city's streets as part of a 15,000-strong military contingent during the Games.
The initiative involves the distribution of brochures, posters and booklets explaining how to identify people engaging in suspicious activity.
In June the government said
POLLUTION
Sailing's international governing body Word Sailing has said that it is satisfied with efforts to clean Rio's much-maligned
The city government last year admitted it will not be able to fulfil a 2009 pledge to reduce pollution in the bay by 80% before the Olympics.
But large nets that block the flow of waste into competition areas and eco-boats that scoop up trash from the water's surface will ensure the bay is fit for sailing, according to officials.
After his May visit to
A cleanup operation at the the Rodrigo de Freitas lake has also eased pollution concerns for rowing and canoeing events, according to organizers.
LEGACY
Rio 2016 chief Carlos Arthur Nuzman has said that the Olympics will have the same transformative effect on Rio that the 1992 Games had on
Among the infrastructure projects that have coincided with the Games are a port revamp, tram and subway lines, roads and express bus services.
Meanwhile some Rio 2016 event venues will be turned into public schools, public sports facilities and leisure centers, according to officials.
But the immediate post-Games challenge for the city and state governments will be to recover
Many providers of essential services like hospitals and police are on the cusp of collapse as public funds dry up and civil servants wait to be paid.