The organisers were also meant to pay travel grants to all 165 participating countries by the end of July, but the first instalments were only now being paid.
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“And I believe the performances of the Para athletes will act as a catalyst for social change”.
Organisers will also close parts of venues, slash staff numbers and scale back transport services in a bid to cut costs.
The empty seats at the Olympic arenas tell the story of Brazil’s financial hardships.
The biggest announcement was that the Deodoro Olympic Park, which was the second largest cluster of venues at the Olympics, would be closed and dismantled, with wheelchair fencing moving to the main Olympic Park in Barra.
As of Tuesday, just 12% of 2.5 million tickets had been sold, even though the majority were being offered for roughly $3 each. “The IPC is working with them to find solutions and ensure their participation here in Rio”.
Despite the fact that Rio says the budget is net there, the governing body of Paralympic Sports is confident that the games will go on as planned and be a success.
The Rio 2016 Paralympics will run from September 7 to 18.
The cuts came in addition to ones previously made together by Paralympic and Olympic officials over the past year, Craven said, noting in the statement that they “are likely to impact almost every stakeholder attending the Games”.
“You only have to look at some of the achievements from Para athletes over the last two years to realize that we will witness some truly spectacular sport”, he added.
Around 10 nations, even when the grants are paid, are struggling to fund their travel.
“We want full participation here”. We want all eligible countries to send their athletes to the Games.
“It is huge concern because we want to make sure all the athletes that have qualified to represent their country at the Paralympic Games get a chance to compete on the world stage”.
As to why that figure had been halved, Andrada said Thursday that Rio’s mayor had made a commitment to buy tickets that was later rescinded.
He added: “We are working desperately hard to protect athlete services, especially within the field of play”.
“They have dedicated their lives to reaching these Games and we will do our utmost to try to maintain the service levels and scope that they expect at a Paralympic Games”.
On the flip side, the athletes who can find a way to actually get to this year’s Paralympics will be comforted to know that the security now in place for Olympics will remain unaffected.
He confirmed that Paralympics Ireland was also anxious its transport grant of €65,000 would not be paid, which organisers say they will now honour.
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Ten countries may not be able to attend the Paralympics as cash-strapped organisers announce major cutbacks.
