IOC President Jacques Rogge said on Wednesday that the IOC must make an effort to "explain the benefits" of hosting the 2016 Olympics to skeptical Brazilians, according to Brian Homewood of REUTERS. Brazil "was rocked by a wave of protests" last month, and among the protesters' many grievances "was the amount of public money being spent on new stadiums." Rogge: "We have to explain very clearly to the public that the investments made in the Olympic Games are for a sustainable legacy for generations to come. We must make it clear that, yes, the Games are a force for the good, that they improve the society and this has to be explained, because people don't know what the investments are." Rogge said that "it was up to the host country to decide how to fund Olympic Games building." Rogge said, "This is a sovereign decision of any government that organizes the Olympic Games. As you know, the investments are not for the short term, it is not for the two weeks of the Olympic Games or World Cup, they are for generations to come, whether it be bus lines, or improvements to the airport" (REUTERS, 7/10).
