The Rio 2016 Olympic Games celebrated its one year countdown in a samba, bossa nova and carnival centred ceremony as worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach officially invited the world’s athletes to take part in South America’s first Olympics.
Advertisement
A test event for 2016 Olympic equestrian began in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday, following an outbreak of the highly contagious and deadly disease, glanders.
“There is not a single person that is not enthusiastic about these games because they saw how well we did and what we delivered in London”, Winter said, “and the enthusiasm of a live games”.
He also said TVB will mainly focus on athletes from Hong Kong, the mainland and Taiwan, and will deploy 100 working staff to cover the Games.
Paes and Carlos Nuzman, an worldwide Olympic Committee member who heads the local organizing committee, gave a presentation on progress at the Olympic venues.
On August 5, 2016, the Olympic torch will end its own marathon – being flown around the world and carried by 12,000 people through Brazil – when it lights the flame inside the Maracana stadium for the opening ceremony.
“London was a huge watershed for British Olympic and Paralympic sport and our aspiration is to do even better this time”.
But the generally positive picture darkens in what environmentalists and Rio residents describe as the horrific pollution in Guanabara Bay, where sailing and windsurfing contests will take place. An Associated Press study released last week showed dangerously high levels of viruses in all water-related venues.
“Personally, I’m confident that Rio is going to have all the facilities in place by the time they need them, ready for next year, the Games itself will look fantastic, be a great advert for Rio around the world as they host the Greatest Show on Earth”.
The scale of the Olympics is just too big to do that, he added, and those viewing habits are valuable to advertisers.
While that’s all good for the structures, questions remain about the state of the city’s waterways, where open-water swimmers, rowers, canoeists, sailors and triathletes will compete.
“Rio is definitely an exciting venue and an exciting city”.
Advertisement
Bach was “very, very tired” after flying from Kuala Lumpur and was in his hotel, the spokesman told more than 200 journalists assembled at a almost completed arena in the Olympic Park.
