Rio 2016 President Claims Games Staged On 'Balanced Budget' Despite Bail-Out

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman has claimed that the Games' Organizing Committee has "worked with private money and a balanced budget at all times," despite an extra R$150M ($46M) in public funds having been allocated to cover shortfalls, according to Daniel Etchells of INSIDE THE GAMES. It comes after the Organizing Committee stated last month that it was "hoping to spend" around R$200M ($61M) of mostly public money on services for "clients and athletes" at the Paralympic Games following the lifting of an injunction forbidding such support. The remaining shortfall of R$50M ($15M) was "plugged following a successful drive to boost ticket sales and generate more sponsors, including state-owned oil giants Petrobras." Asked to justify the move to approach the City Government for a bail-out, "Nuzman chose to focus solely on the shortfall made up by sponsors." He said, "We've worked with private money and a balanced budget at all times" (INSIDE THE GAMES, 9/12).