The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Commission brought to a close its seventh visit to the South American host city, it follows a successful winter here for Brazil and for the country’s preparations for the Olympic Games, which included the FIFA World Cup, Rio 2016’s first test event, the Rio 2016 World Press Briefing and the Rio 2016 World Broadcasters Meeting. The Commission left Rio satisfied with the progress that the Rio organizers have made since their last visit in March this year.
As part of its three days of meetings, the Commission visited the Olympic Golf Course, the Olympic Village, the Deodoro Olympic Park, and the Barra Olympic Park, where they were joined by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Speaking at the end of the visit, Commission Chair Nawal El Moutawakel said: “We leave Rio satisfied with the progress that has been made since our visit last March. The strong commitment of the Brazilian authorities to the success of the Rio 2016 Games has been underlined to us by the presence of President Rousseff during our visit to the Olympic Park yesterday. We remain confident that, despite a very tight schedule, our Brazilian partners will deliver successful Games.”
She continued: “As we enter the final two years of preparations, we are able to see that the core works are progressing at full speed, particularly in venue construction, where we have been receiving solid development reports. We were also able to see first-hand the advancements being made, during our venue tour on Tuesday. Rio 2016 has begun to engage in earnest with the public this winter and we were able to take stock of what has already been done. We were pleased to hear that this engagement will continue with upcoming events like ticket sign-up, mascot launch, the Cultural Olympiad and test events.”
The next big milestone for the Rio 2016 organizers is the delivery of their ambitious test event programme, which will see 44 sports events take place in Rio ahead of the Games. The Organizing Committee is advancing full speed ahead towards these events, and, in order to be prepared in the best fashion, the Commission reviewed with the organizers all the areas that are presenting concerns or that require particular attention.
Two areas that were looked at very closely were construction and accommodation. Rio 2016 and its Government partners outlined in detail the progress being made on the development of the venues and infrastructure that will be required for the Games. Although the schedule remains tight, the Rio team clearly demonstrated that they had the situation under control, with good progress being made. They also discussed their continued efforts to reinforce their dialogue with the International Federations on venue development.
Accommodation was always going to be a challenge with the large number of hotels that have to be built ahead of the Games, but very clear and reassuring information was provided to the Commission that the 68 new hotels under construction were on track.
The President of the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, said: "Our commitment to our mission of organizing excellent Games with memorable celebrations remains intact. With the IOC's guidance and the help of our sponsors, we have the confidence we need. It is very rewarding when we look around and see our partners from the city, state and federal governments, building the Games with us."
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