Two years separate Rio de Janeiro from the 2016 Olympic Games. 720 days, not one more, before the opening ceremony of the first Olympic Games in history in South America, scheduled for August 5, 2016 in the early evening. After the time of disaster scenarios has come, since the end of the Football World Cup, that of relative optimism in the Brazilian city. An optimism carefully maintained by the Brazilians themselves, relieved to see the darkest clouds leave the sky above the bay. But the questions remain. Above all, time is running out.
Monday August 4, the Organizing Committee for the Rio Games preceded the symbolic date of D by one day – 2 years before the opening, by communicating the official list of pre-Olympic events. A table of 45 test events, Olympic and Paralympic (http://www.aquecerio.com/calendar.pdf), spread from August 2, 2014 to May 16, 2016. The document is intended to be reassuring. It would be without the presence, here and there, of several “to be confirmed” dates, notably concerning the triathlon, golf, football and weightlifting events.
In Brazil, the organizers almost came to rolling machines. Carlos Nuzman, the president of the Organizing Committee, assures with an ounce of pride that the preparation of the Games has left behind the “planning” phase, to enter directly into the so-called “operational” phase. " It was time. “The competition structures will start to take shape, and we will get closer to the public,” explained the Brazilian.
Of the 52 projects directly linked to the event, more than two thirds (71%) are currently being implemented. According to Sydney Levy, executive director of Rio 2016, 55% of competition venues are already operational.
In Sydney, where he participated in a press conference, John Coates followed in the footsteps of Carlos Nuzman. Vice-President of the IOC, and above all President of the Coordination Commission for the Rio Games, the Australian also wanted to be reassuring and optimistic. Referring to the FIFA World Cup, he noted that “all the reports received by the IOC have been very good. » Then John Coates explained: “We were very worried about the airport and transport, but everything worked out very well. Over the past two months, the Brazilians have really put their foot on the accelerator. We will return there for another visit at the end of September, but the forecasts today are much more positive. » During the same press conference, John Coates said he was satisfied with the decision of the Brazilian organizers to call on a private construction company to speed up work on the Olympic Park.
However, the questions remain. And the criticisms persist. The American Anita DeFrantz, member of the IOC Executive Board, expressed from Los Angeles her “disappointment” with the alleged progress of the Brazilians in preparing for the Games. She expected better. She remains skeptical. As for the Australian Kitty Chiller, chef de mission of the Australian team for the Rio Games, she also refuses to give in to the prevailing optimism. “There is still so much to do, and so many unanswered questions, that it is very complicated for us to organize ourselves,” she told Reuters. I tested the travel time between the athletes' village and the Copacabana area myself. I happened to connect the two sites in 34 minutes. But it also happened to me to take 2 hours and a quarter for the same distance. » Time, Brazilians’ worst enemy.
