The good air of Switzerland and the calm waters of Lake Geneva no longer do anything. On the question of the Rio Games, the IOC is losing patience. And the worry is growing. The executive committee of the Olympic institution is due to meet this week in Belek, Turkey, as part of the SportAccord Convention. On the agenda, the delays which are increasing in the preparation of the Summer Games in 2016.
Monday, April 7, a new incident increased the tension reigning in Brazil around the Olympic event. On strike for several days to obtain salary increases and better union representation, workers at the Olympic Park in Rio de Janeiro clashed with the police. According to several witnesses, shots were exchanged, without causing any casualties.
A few days earlier, the host city of the next Summer Games recorded two resignations: that of Maria Silvia Bastos Marques, the president of the Municipal Olympic Society, then that of Sergio Cabral, the governor of the state of Rio.
In Lausanne, there is now open concern. A concern shared by the leaders of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF), who are expected to take part in discussions of the IOC executive committee on Wednesday and Thursday in Turkey. Thomas Bach and his team say particularly concerned by the situation in the Deodoro sector, north of Rio, the second largest Olympic venue, where almost everything is still to be built.
Water pollution in Guanabara Bay also calls into question the construction of Olympic facilities for sailing events, including the pre-Olympic tests, the first in the series, to be organized in August 2014.
At the top of the list of issues to be resolved for the Brazilian authorities: the budget. In short, who pays what. The incessant back and forth between the different levels of Brazilian power seriously complicates things. Time is running out, but nothing is happening. A meeting on Olympic expenses was planned for March, but it was canceled. It could finally be held this week.
The president of the Rio Games organizing committee, Carlos Nuzman, and its general director, Sidney Levy, were scheduled to travel to Antalya/Belek for the IOC meeting. The latest news is that they will remain in Brazil to hold their own meeting, contenting themselves with an exchange with the IOC by videoconference.
