The 2016 Summer Olympic Games are only months away. Host Rio de Janerio has a lot to learn from last games host London, but does the economic recession, lack of interest and Zika virus threaten the Games?
The Olympic Flag flies in front of “Christ the Redeemer” statue during a blessing ceremony in Rio de Janeiro August 19, 2012. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
In July 2012, Brazil Minister for Sport Aldo Rebelo claimed that the Rio de Janerio 2016 Summer Olympic Games would be heavily influenced by 2012 London Games but have their own unique Brazilian feel.
When winning the bid for the London Olympics, the United Kingdom was in a recession and battling the global finance crisis, therefore spending was reduced and plans were put into place to maximise infrastructure for not only the games but beyond.
Fast-forward four years and we are only five months out from the August 5 opening ceremony, and like the led up to most Olympics’ there are claims that Brazil won’t be ready and is unprepared. But are they really that far off the mark.
Brazil is in a similar position as United Kingdom was economically. They are in the midst of the worst recession in decades, the Brazilian Real has plummeted, investment ratings are at junk level and there is extreme dissatisfaction with the ruling parties.
Despite this economic turn down Brazil will most likely pull off the 2016 Olympics, whether they will trump London’s performance is yet to be seen.
London lessons
After the London Olympics closed on 12 August 2012, the BBC’s Claire Heald wrote an article outline the ‘10 things Rio can learn from the London 2012 Olympics’. Heald outlines seemingly obvious things like improving transport, utilising volunteers and efficient ticketing systems but she also mentions more niche tips such as scheduling events in which your country is likely to win medals at the beginning of the Olympics, in order improve athlete and country morale in the games.
The success or failure of components of London’s Olympics has heavily influenced Brazil, but with mounting economic troubles, some issues aren’t progressing as they should.
Transport
In a report published in 2013 by London Assembly’s Transport Committee entitled ‘London 2012 and the Transport Legacy’ discussed that due to major investment and extensive testing of the transport network allowed London to cope with the influx of Olympic patrons.
In order to successful move hundreds of thousand of people to and from game venues the already struggling transport system of Rio de Janerio needs to be upgraded. Though many problems exist in their transport system even before the Olympic upgrade commenced.
In 2014 the Guardian newspaper reported about mass protests in Rio de Janerio over the hike in bus prices, long delays and lack of infrastructure of the transport system. At the time bus prices rose from 2.75 reais to 3 reais (around 0.97 euros) which doesn’t seem much for Western readers, but when you are earning minimum wage this amount adds up.
Twitter user Patrick Boehler used this diagram to point out the lack of infrastructure development in Rio over ten years
A metro line extension has be critical in getting Rio ready for the Olympics but this project isn’t finished yet and it potentially won’t be ready for the Opening Ceremony. Around 200m of tunnel is left to drill and the extension will reportedly be finished in early July, which leaves less then a month for testing.
A senior Brazilian government official spoke to the Guardian in February 2016 explaining that unless the government starts to focus on this project it won’t be finished.
“There is a risk of the work not being finished, but there is still enough time to turn it around,” the official stated.
Anonymous officials aren’t the only ones concerned; Rio de Janerio Mayor Eduardo Paes sent an email to the Olympic organising committee saying that there was a real risk of the subway line failing to meet the deadline. A plan B has been put in place, with buses using specially built express lanes to transport patrons.
Ticketing
United Kingdom’s media label the London Olympics a ‘ticketing fiasco’ after up to 12, 000 seats remained empty on some days of the games. The issue came about when unsold or unused corporate seats were left vacant, instead of being offered to the public as promised by Lord Sebastian Coe, Chairman of London 2012.
In order to fill seats Lord Coe, brought in off-duty soldiers and local schoolchildren to fill the seats, while athletes complained that their families couldn’t source tickets to watch them compete.
UK soldiers watch the women’s gymnastic events at the London 2012 Olympics, with vary degrees of interest. REUTERS
While London’s ticketing error was more the administrative, Brazil ticketing woes are based around lack of interest, most clearly from Brazilians themselves. Like most Olympics, a percentage of seats are reserved for the countries own population. In London, residents would have to enter themselves into a ballot to receive tickets. Tickets for English citizens were hard to come by and in some cases extremely expensive.
Brazil is having the opposite problem, less than half of the allocated tickets for Brazilian nations have been sold. Ticket prices have been slashed to as low as 2.66 euros.
Brazilian Olympic Committee spokesman Philip Wilkinson spoke to the Wall Street Journal in January 2016, stressing that poor ticket sales are nothing to be worried about.
“Given that Brazilian buying habits tend to see tickets being bought closer to the date of events,” Wilkinson spoke.
The Paralympics are facing even a bigger ticketing crisis, with only 300,000 out of 3 million offered to Brazilians being sold. When speaking to Travel Industry Today in January 2016, Olympic organising committee spokesperson Mario Andrada says that Brazilians sometimes view the Paralympic games as shocking.
“We have to educate, publicize. In the Paralympics we still need to show that Brazil will be fighting for the top give on the medal chart. For some here, Paralympic sport is still shocking,” Andrada said.
Security
Heald discusses in her article that during the London Olympics the security threat level has set at substantial and due to this, security planning was thorough.
“Rio’s mountainous geography and Brazil’s more emerging economy, and comparatively high murder rate and drugs trade, present their own challenges,” Heald said.
It is true Brazil does face more security threats due to economic and political issues, and all of this isn’t helped by the fact that the Zika virus has being causing havoc across the nation.
According to a Guardian article published in February 2016, Brazilian armed forces and public officials are currently engaged in pouring chlorine into water tanks and clearing gutters where mosquito larvae might be found. Therefore instead of focusing on security planning and testing for the Olympics, the Brazilian armed forces are fighting Zika.
Speaking to the Guardian, Captain Luiz Eduardo Maduereira de Moraes says that due to the games being held in the Brazilian winter means that Zika will be a less of a threat and the armed forces can focus on the Olympics.
“We hope that by the time of the Olympic we can revert to our main role of security because the climate should be cooler and the disease risk lower,” the Captain explained.
Volunteers
London used volunteer to their advantaged, using them to boost staff numbers without having to spend money. Due to Brazil’s economic woes their planned use of volunteers ha been noted.
Andrew Zimbalist, a Professor of Economics at Smith College in Massachusetts spoke to International Business Times in August 2015 explaining that a lot of compromises will be made in Brazil.
“I think that one of the things that’s going to happen here is you’re going to find a lot of compromises…. You’ll see less money being spent on opening ceremonies, you’ll see more reliance on volunteers,” Zimbalist said.
Redevelopment
London’s greatest achievement for the 2012 Olympics was the urban regeneration and development of event sites. Unlike Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, London was able to use the Olympics to speed up development of an urban area that without the games might have taken 20 years.
Sir Charles Allen, former British television boss who was heavily involved in the business side of the London Olympics, believes that government should use the games to do something special.
“(It) makes the games a one-off excuse to do something large and lasting,” said Sir Allen to the Independent in July 2013.
Instead of the government being heavily involved in the plans for Brazil Olympic Park after the games, private investors have made much of the planning. Without a proper plans Brazil runs the risk of being labeled a ‘Olympic venue failure’, like Athens who failed to establish any long lasting reuse plans and who venues lie abandoned and overgrown today.
Athens Olympic Beach Volleyball courts, which is now full of weeds. OLYMPIC CITY PROJECT
A uniquely Brazilian problem
Water pollution and the threat it poses to the Rio de Janerio games is a problem that Brazil has no precedent to turn to. In an article published by CNBC in July 2015 found that water pollution levels in the sailing and rowing venues were at a serious level.
But water pollution isn’t just an Olympic problem rather it is an ongoing issue for Brazil. The majority of sewage in Brazil isn’t treated; rather it runs in open-air ditches to rivers and oceans.
According to the CNBC article the Brazil government’s efforts to solve this issue; which has already made athletes training in Rio sick, has been poor. An unknown commentator talked to CNBC saying that if these bodies of water were located in the US and had this level of dangerous contamination, they would be shut down.
A video by BBC reporters, discussing water pollution in Brazil.
Will Brazil make it?
In 2014, some sensationalist media outlets reported that London has been approached by Olympic organisers to see if arrangements could be made for London to host the 2016 Olympic games, if Brazil doesn’t work out.
While two years ago the progress was small in Rio, today efforts are being made to get things ready on time. Though with the subway extension still yet to be completed and stadiums in their final stages, Zimbalist warns that if infrastructure isn’t completed soon that cost of the games will skyrocket, as shown before in Athens 2004.
“Games have gone through during a recession before… Athens hosted the games in 2004 under shaky economic conditions, and cost skyrocketed because of last-minute prep. It’s been suggested that the games helped cause Greece’s ensuring economic meltdown,” said Zimbalist
In reality, the Rio de Janerio 2016 Summer Olympic Games will certainly be a tampered down version of London. Though the expected spectacle of colour, dance and music of the August 5 opening ceremony will make any misgivings disappear.
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