Paes told the IPC he was ready to deliver 150 million Brazilian reals (£36.5million) to fill any hole in Rio 2016’s budget, although there is now a court injunction against the organising committee receiving any more public funding until it opens up its accounts.
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The International Olympic Committee opted for the compromise of letting each federation that runs an Olympic sport decide on the eligibility of Russian athletes for Rio – a decision that eventually led to the world’s largest country fielding a team of 278 athletes.
“Failure to do so could result in a number of countries being unable to attend the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games”.
In a nation ravaged by recession where many taxpayers have grown irate about the idea of paying for global sporting events, Olympic organizers long boasted that Rio 2016’s budget would be privately funded.
Rio Olympics organizers’ hopes of securing government money to cover a large funding deficit are in question after a Brazilian judge ruled that the local organizing committee must provide public access to its financial accounts first.
Mr. Andrada said Rio 2016 expects a new wave of sponsors for the Paralympics and that it would pay the grants for the disabled athletes.
“Although the situation is pretty precarious, rumours that the Games may not go ahead or that sports may be cut are totally unfounded and not true”, Craven said.
The latest headache for organisers comes against a backdrop of disappointing ticket sales for the Paralympics with Rio officials admitting only 29 percent have so far been sold.
Judge Marcia Maria Nunes ruled late on Friday the federal government and the city of Rio de Janeiro could not provide some $85 million United States promised to help pay for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games and next month’s Paralympics unless its accounts are made public.
On August 7, the IPC slapped a blanket ban on the Russian Paralympic team, barring it from participating in the Rio Games slated for September 7-18.
Presidential Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha announced on August 4, the day before the Rio Olympics’ lavish opening ceremony, that the federal government would provide 120 million reais to the organising committee and the city of Rio would make a further 150 million available.
Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Rio de Janeiro’s mayor vowed Monday to fight a court ban on crucial funding for next month’s Paralympics, promising the games would get the cash they need.
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“This is the last thing that we want to do”.
