The Rio Olympics will be held from August 5 to 21 and the Paralympics from September 7 to 18.
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Recent attacks claimed by extremist groups in Europe have added to security concerns over the Olympics in Rio, a sprawling city where drug traffickers and armed gangs often control slums and spark heavily armed police raids.
Rising demand for hotel and restaurant services ahead of the Olympic Games helped ease the downturn in Brazil’s service sector in July, a private survey showed on Wednesday.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes stood on the dock to receive the flame, which burned in a brass lamp and was then used to light the torch.
Rio de Janeiro police killed 49 people in June this year, 40 in May and 35 in April, according to data from the Institute for Public Security of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Tuesday said Ban will fly to the host city of the 31st Olympics on Wednesday night and will carry the torch during the relay on Friday, the opening day of the Rio Games, according to The Associated Press. “The expectations are huge”. While the torch’s tour through 300 cities has generally been smooth, it did spur an global outcry when authorities had to shoot a jaguar after the animal escaped from its handlers at a ceremony in the Amazon city of Manaus.
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Pele, 75, said he has a commitment to a sponsor that would make him travel on Friday, the day of the Opening Ceremony.
