Today marks 100 days until the start of the Rio Games, but there are some "serious issues confronting the host city, and it's not at all certain that they will all be solved by the time the cauldron is lit,” according to NBC's Bob Costas. When Rio was awarded the Games in '09, Brazil's economy "was booming and the first Olympics in South America seemed the perfect opportunity to showcase a country that seemed ascendent." However, much of the country's "economic strength was fueled by the discovery of oil off its coast." Costas: "As that commodity's fortunes have turned, so too has Brazil's. Inflation is now rampant and the economy shrank by 4% last year.” In addition to the financial difficulties, the country’s "leadership is in turmoil.” Brazil President Dilma Rousseff is facing impeachment, and author Juliana Barbassa noted it is unknown if Rousseff "is going to be in power for that Opening Ceremony." Barbassa: "It's with a lot of apprehension that Brazilians look at the Olympics.” Despite that, Costas reports for the "challenges Rio faces, there are many that have already been met.” Nearly all Olympic venues are complete and “major transportation projects are, in fact, on track” ("Today," NBC, 4/27). The AFP's Sebastian Smith noted with a "tanking economy, high crime and the Zika virus," some have started "asking whether Brazilians will even want to turn up" to the Games. Olympic organizers also have had to "slash their budget, cutting back on everything from printer ink to seating at the rowing venue." Officials "insist that nothing important will be missing," but deadlines "are getting awfully tight" (AFP, 4/26).
OMINOUS SIGNS? The AP's Stephen Wade noted the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca "looks spectacular," and television cameras "will love the aerial shots above the Copacabana beach, or views from the famous Christ the Redeemer statue as it peers over Sugar Loaf mountain and Guanabara Bay." However, problems "still hang over South America's first games, the most unsettled in decades." The Zika virus "threatens athletes and tourists," while ticket sales "are lukewarm and the bacteria and virus-filled venues for sailing, rowing, canoeing and open-water swimming could put 1,600 athletes competing there at risk." The deaths of two people last week when a new Olympic legacy cycling path collapsed into the sea "have raised doubts about construction standards in the rush to build" (AP, 4/26). In Oakland, Elliott Almond notes the image of "raw sewage and debris floating in the water at competition sites presents a stark contrast to the picturesque city of tropical Atlantic breezes and Carnival character." Not even the "striking pose of Christ the Redeemer atop Mt. Corcovado can stop the questioning over Rio de Janeiro's unfulfilled Olympic promises" (EAST BAY TIMES, 4/27). The NATIONAL POST's Cam Cole noted the Rio Games are not "merely following the familiar pattern but elevating each element of the chaos to levels even Athens in 2004 never reached" (NATIONAL POST, 4/26).
SLOW MOMENTUM LOCALLY: The GLOBE & MAIL's Stephanie Nolen notes there is "almost no media coverage of the impending Games" in Brazil, and locals can "rarely be heard discussing them." Rio officials said that only 62% of 5.8 million tickets offered for sale so far "have been purchased." Brazilians "have other things on their minds," as unemployment is more than 10%, and "so is inflation" (GLOBE & MAIL, 4/27).
