International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach has brushed off criticism of the cost and organisation of Rio 2016, hailing the Games as “iconic” and a “catalyst” for social change.
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Rio de Janeiro, Aug 22: Rain drenched Rio partied and brought out the myriad and diverse culture of Brazil, saluting the nation’s music maestros, traditional arts and dance forms, as the 31st Olympic Games – the first in South America – drew to a colourful close here on Sunday.
“We have seen iconic athletes across all the sports”.
The incredible accomplishments of Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, Usain Bolt and so many other of the world’s greatest athletes mostly overshadowed the negative stories, although there were still some unfortunate moments.
Bach closed the Games by saying: “I declare the Games of the XXXI Olympiad closed”. No need to talk about Copacabana beach, the canoeing and rowing venue, the sailing venue, the Sambodromo for archery – all iconic venues.
Slightly more controversially, there was also an advert for the IOC’s new €530m Olympic Channel and the introduction of the four new members of the IOC athletes’ commission, including Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva, the most high-profile critic of the decision to exclude Russia’s athletics team from Rio because of its state-run doping programme.
During the gathering, Olympic Orders in gold were awarded to Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the President of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee, and Eduardo Paes, Mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro, while Rio 2016 Chief Executive Officer Sidney Levy received the Olympic Order in silver.
Police said they seized hundreds of tickets from Mr Mallon some of which had the Olympic Council of Ireland name on them.
He added that it had been good for the Games to see the “social reality” in Rio, a city marked by violent crime and huge wealth disparities. To face the challenges and put sport into perspective.
“With the Games the IOC has shown it is possible to organize Olympic Games in countries which are not at the top of the GDP (gross domestic product) ranking”.
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He said Rio 2016 would be remembered as an iconic games, not only for its historic sporting achievements, but also because of the spirit and passion of the Brazilian people.
