Nearly two-and-a-half months after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, "hundreds of workers still haven’t been paid and are planning to sue the local organizing committee to get their money," according to Stephen Wade of the AP. Among those late getting paid are "about 100 freelance contractors who worked as stadium announcers, show producers and DJs, and several hundred others who worked for the Olympic News Service, which produced written summaries about the sports and athletes at the Olympics and subsequent Paralympics." South African freelance show producer Rocky Bester said, "I’m working with a legal firm that is already representing someone involved with Rio 2016, so they have a pretty good handle what is going on." Bester, a spokesperson for the 100 contractors, said that he has "never experienced such problems at previous Olympics." He said, "We’ve had robust conversations at other Olympics about payments, but it’s always been an open conversation. What is happening here is that no one is talking back. We’re sitting in the dark. We’re mushrooms at the moment." Rio Olympic officials "blamed the delays on late payments from their own sponsors," the Rio city hall and the IOC. Rio spokesperson Mario Andrada said, "We are paying, but not all the money we need to have for payments has been received." The amounts owed the freelancers are "relatively modest." Bester declined to offer figures but said that he had been paid "about half of what he was owed, but said others have received nothing." He said that "many are living off credit cards, running up high-interest debt" (AP, 10/31).
