Among the nightmares haunting Rio de Janeiro Mayor EDUARDO PAES before next year's World Cup is "the possibility that his city could go down in history as the scene of a neighbour's greatest triumph," according to Jonathan Watts of the London GUARDIAN. Paes said, "If Argentina beat Brazil, in the final, I'll kill myself. They have [LIONEL MESSI] and the pope. They can't have everything." It is "not the only potential horror facing the head of the city that will soon host a cascade of mega-events:" a papal visit this year, the 2014 World Cup next year, and the 2016 Olympics. Paes has described the challenge of meeting expectations as a "good nightmare," a chance to "upgrade a city that seemed to be in terminal decline a decade or two ago." Paes: "This is a turning point, an opportunity to reinvent the city. I don't care about the racetrack for USAIN BOLT in the 100m. What I care about is what will last for the city." Contrary to the "widely expressed view" that the mega-events will primarily benefit the upmarket resort area in the city's south, the mayor said that development projects "were geared towards reducing inequality." Paes: "There is nothing happening in the rich areas. It's all in the poor areas" (GUARDIAN, 6/10).
