Nicole Krause
Staff Writer
It may still be almost two years away, but preparations are well and truly underway for the 2016 Olympic Games, due to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil…or are they?
That is the question being asked this week after the Vice President of the International Olympics Committee, John Coates, warned that the preparations for the event, including construction of several major venues and the athletes’ village, were “the worst [he] had experienced” and that organizers were behind in “many, many ways.”
So much so that, the IOC has taken the unprecedented step of placing a special taskforce of IOC staff members on the ground in Brazil in an attempt to speed up preparations and get plans back on track, in order to ensure that Rio is ready for 2016.
The problem is complicated by the fact that Rio de Janeiro is due to host the FIFA World Cup in June.
This is not the first time that the IOC has expressed concerns over the preparedness of a Olympic host nation – some will remember when 2004 host city Athens received a “yellow light” warning for unpreparedness from then-IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch – Mr. Coates has made it clear that he feels the situation in Rio is much, much worse.
In particular, he blamed the complicated and convoluted system of government in Brazil, which means that organizers must deal with three levels of government, federal, state and city, who very rarely communicate with each other. In Athens, where similar issues dogged preparations, organizers only had to worry about federal and city governments.
The issues believed to be of most concern to the IOC include delay to construction on several major venues, a grass-free golf course, a sailing venue with concerns over water pollution and many issues with inadequate and inexperienced staff.
And while Rio’s incompetence might seem like good news for the other cities who competed for the rights to host the 2016 Olympics, including Madrid, Tokyo and Chicago, Mr. Coates has insisted that, despite the issues, the IOC has no plans to move the games to another city.
“It is unprecedented for the IOC, but there is no Plan B,” he said. “We are going to Rio.”
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