Olympic accolade sets seal on progress
In this computer generated photo illustration released by Comite Rio 2016, the Rio Olympic Park is shown. The 2016 Olympics are going to Rio de Janeiro, putting the games in South America for the first time. Foto: AP Photo/Comite Rio 2016
Fireworks and confetti filled the air over Copacabana beach on a Friday morning last month and 30,000 people, many wearing the national colours of green and yellow, leapt and danced for joy as Rio de Janeiro won its bid to hold the 2016 Olympic Games.
It was, as many pointed out, an historic moment. Coming soon after news that the country had emerged from a short recession, apparently shrugging off the effects of the global crisis, it seemed to confirm that after years of underperformance and self-doubt, Brazil’s time had come at last.
Two weeks later, another first for the history books: a police helicopter was shot down over one of Rio’s favelas – the shanty towns that sprawl over hillsides throughout the city – and 10 suspected drug traffickers were killed at the start of a week of violence between police and criminal gangs that left at least 42 people dead. Continue Reading »Olympic accolade sets seal on progress
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What do the Olympics mean for Rio’s environment?
Prainha, Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
Naturally we in the Cidade Maravilhosa are delighted to have beaten out the Windy City and snatched the 2016 Olympics from under the nose of the not-quite-glamorous-enough first couple of the United States: even Obama can’t compete with Copacabana when it comes to wowing Olympic committees.
But now that the cheering has died down along with the hangovers, a sober consideration of what the Olympics will mean for the world’s most interesting and biodiverse urban environment is in order.
You don’t normally associate biodiversity and conservation with cities, but Rio de Janeiro is an exception. Its extraordinary topography means steep hill slopes and mountainsides are still forested: not the least of the issues associated with the growth of favelas, Rio’s hillside slums, is that their expansion corrodes this green mantle.
Rio’s forests are a remnant of the Atlantic Forest that once covered most of coastal Brazil and stretched as far inland as Paraguay. Only 7 percent is left, making it much more threatened than the Amazon and even more biodiverse, since the surviving fragments act as refuge areas for species that once had much wider ranges. This makes what survives of the Atlantic Forest extraordinarily important. One of Latin America’s oldest national parks, Tijuca National Forest, sits entirely within the city’s boundaries, a natural treasure greater than any of its beaches. What does the Olympics mean to all this? In short, a mixed bag. Continue Reading »What do the Olympics mean for Rio’s environment?
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Rio 2016 Olympics Certain Seven Years Ago
This week’s election of a host city for the 2015 Pan American Games brings back memories of the contest for the 2007 Pan Ams in which Rio de Janeiro beat the bid from San Antonio, Texas. Plenty of lessons that the U.S. didn’t learn from that defeat that might have helped Chicago –such as don’t pick basketball Olympian David Robinson for your team.
The vote by the Pan American Sports Organization General Assembly August 24, 2002 it turns out, clearly foreshadowed the Rio de Janeiro victory for the 2016 Olympics and as well reasons for Chicago’s demise.
We’ve written frequently about the continuity of leadership that helped propel the Rio Olympic forward and the disconnects that have plagued the U.S. For Rio, the story goes back to 2002 with the 2007 Pan Ams bid.
The bid was led by Carlos Nuzman, IOC member, president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee – and one and the same leader for the Rio Olympic bid seven years later. At his side, Carlos Roberto Osorio, Nuzman’s deputy for the 2007 Pan Am bid who reprised the role for the 2016 Olympics bid.
The dynamic duo were not alone – other staff from Rio and the Brazilian Olympic Committee also made the seven year journey from Pan Am bid to Olympics bid, a consistency no other bid in the 2016 race could match. Continue Reading »Rio 2016 Olympics Certain Seven Years Ago
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IOC, Brazil to draw up plan of action for Rio 2016
Less than a month after Rio de Janeiro was chosen to host the 2016 Olympics, International Olympic Committee (IOC) representatives were meeting with Brazilian authorities to draw up a plan of action to prepare the Games. The meeting was taking place Friday and Saturday at the traditional Copacabana Palace hotel in Rio.
Before getting started, those in attendance watched a video message from IOC president Jacques Rogge, who congratulated Brazilians for having been chosen as Olympic hosts and reminded them of future challenges.
“That conquest comes with a great responsibility. The IOC has shown great confidence in Rio de Janeiro and in its vision for the Games. We will be in Rio many times and we will work very closely with the organizing committee, because history shows that only joint effort generates great achievements,” he said. Continue Reading »IOC, Brazil to draw up plan of action for Rio 2016
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IOC set to start working in Rio on 2016 Olympics
After the excitement of bidding and the euphoria of winning, the reality of making the 2016 Olympics happen starts in Rio de Janeiro this week.
The International Olympic Committee is sending an expert team to Brazil on Wednesday to begin shaping the $14.4 billion games with Rio’s organizing committee and government agencies.
“We start immediately with working with the Brazilians,” IOC President Jacques Rogge told The Associated Press on Monday.
IOC team leader Gilbert Felli, executive director of the Olympic Games, said planning would begin during a two-day seminar for 300 Rio officials.
“Just to make sure that there is a good understanding of the Games preparation, and reassess maybe the weak points that they had during the bid,” Felli told the AP at the Olympic Museum. “We have raised different issues that we believe needed careful follow-up.” Continue Reading »IOC set to start working in Rio on 2016 Olympics
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Rio plays to win at 2016 Olympics
Rio de Janeiro enjoyed a long party after clinching the Olympics
Swimsuit-clad revellers on Copacabana Beach waved green, yellow and blue flags and partied through the night when Rio de Janeiro pulled off its marvellous feat of winning the 2016 Olympic Games.
In Copenhagen, where the decision was announced, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva burst into tears of joy, as did football legend Pele and most of the Brazilian delegation in the Danish capital.
Among them was the Eduardo Paes, mayor of the “Marvellous City”, perhaps best-known around the world for its annual carnival which attracts two million people every year.
But now, more than three weeks on, the confetti has been cleared away, eyes dried, and the hard work begins of delivering the games, with all the logistical and infrastructure work that involves. Continue Reading »Rio plays to win at 2016 Olympics
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IOC’s Rogge says he trusts Brazil on Games security
President Jacques Rogge
Brazil will find ways to ensure the safety of Rio de Janeiro’s 2016 Olympics, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge said on Thursday, after an outbreak of violence raised questions over the Games’ security.
Thirty-three people have died since violence between rival gangs of drug traffickers erupted in Rio at the weekend.
The city was awarded the 2016 Olympics two weeks earlier following a campaign that played down security problems and portrayed a joyful city of beaches and Carnival celebrations. Continue Reading »IOC’s Rogge says he trusts Brazil on Games security
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Giving the 2016 Olympics to Rio is one of the IOC’s greatest ideas
None of the violence I saw in Brazil has changed my view that giving the 2016 Olympics to Rio is one of the IOC’s greatest ideas
It was just after 5pm last Friday when I walked out of the Morumbi shopping mall into the street. The traffic was bad. In Sao Paulo, the traffic is always bad.
I waited by the kerb to try to hail a taxi. Then I heard a commotion and looked over to the central reservation 20 yards away.
On opposite sides of a low hedge, two men were standing facing each other, only a few feet apart. One man was shouting. The other was silent. They were pointing guns at each other. Continue Reading »Giving the 2016 Olympics to Rio is one of the IOC’s greatest ideas
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Brazil Assigns $60 Million to Bolster Rio Security
Police patrol a Rio de Janeiro slum on Monday where deadly weekend clashes spurred officials to address security concerns for the 2016 Olympics.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva promised to deploy federal police and allocate $60 million in aid to Rio de Janeiro after a weekend shootout downed a police helicopter and raised questions about the city’s ability to host safe Olympic Games.
Mr. da Silva made the announcement on a day when a third policeman involved in the helicopter crash died of his wounds and police conducted operations in at least six of the city’s hillside shanty towns, called favelas, where the clashes took place.
Police officials also said they recovered at least one high-caliber machine gun capable of shooting down a helicopter. Thus far, an estimated 21 people have died, Rio police say, in weekend violence that flared during turf wars between criminal gangs. Continue Reading »Brazil Assigns $60 Million to Bolster Rio Security
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Brazil pledges Olympic security after Rio violence
Brazilian officials are insisting security won’t be a problem for the 2016 Olympics, despite drug-gang violence that plunged Rio de Janeiro into a day of bloody chaos just two weeks after it was picked to host the games.
An hourslong firefight between rival gangs in one of the city’s slums killed a dozen people, injured six and saw a police helicopter shot down and eight buses set on fire Saturday.
Two officers died and four were injured when bullets from the gang battle ripped into their helicopter hovering overhead, forcing it into a fiery crash landing on a soccer field. Gunfire on the ground killed 10 suspected gunmen and wounded two bystanders. Continue Reading »Brazil pledges Olympic security after Rio violence
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