IOC Positive that Rio 2016 'Fundamentals in Place'

(ATR) IOC Executive Director Christophe Dubi tells Around the Rings that with the major challenges achieved, the Games are on the right track.

Dubi, along with the IOC Rio 2016 Coordination Commission, have made their final official visit to the 2016 Olympic city from April 11-13. During the time, the commission toured the venues while receiving updates from all three levels of Brazilian government.

After finishing two days of meetings, the commission remained impressed with the state of the Olympic project, despite the uncertainty in the country of Brazil.

"The main thing that you would verify at this point in timeis whether or not the fundamentals are in place," Dubi said to ATR.

"This is the case. We have the venues, we have the transportation system, we have the accommodation system, and we see major improvement throughout the city and all this is coming to fruition at this point in time."

The velodrome is the only venue that remains behind schedule and unfinished as the coordination departs. Rio 2016 president Carlos Nuzman said the venue is set to be finished in June, with a training session will to be held on June 25-27 to test the timing and scoring mechanisms ahead of the Games.

The certainty and stability projected from the IOC is a stark contrast to the current political crisis engulfing the capital of Brasilia. President Dilma Rousseff is fighting for her political life trying to stave off an impeachment challenge from opposition parties. The lower house of the Brazilian government will vote on April 17 on whether or not the upper house will continue the impeachment process.

If the lower house votes to move the investigation to the upper house, Rousseff will have to step down from office for 180 days to allow the investigation to continue. This would mean vice-president Michael Temer could open the 2016 Games.

Coordination Commission chair Nawal El Moutawakel stressed how the political crisis is not affecting preparations in any manner. El Moutawakel said that the IOC is "non-political and will move forward with works despite the complex environment." She did add that the IOC would be monitoring the vote this Sunday and the situation going forward.

Nuzman said the current economic climate in the state of Rio de Janeiro should not cast doubt on the benefits of the Games. He said that the legacy from the 2016 Olympics is the "most transformative" any host city has ever achieved.

"For more than 50 years there were no public works [in Rio] after losing the status of the capital city," Nuzman said. "We have achieved more than 150 kilometers of bus-rapid transit, and more than 20 kilometers of new subway lines. All cities in the world face problems, and it is better to show the legacy that was built."

In addition, the organizing committee gave an update on the current rate of ticket sales. Currently 3.5 million of an available 5.7 million tickets have been sold. Of the 2.2 million tickets remaining, 1 million are for the Olympic Football Tournament and will be available for the general public to purchase after the tournament draw on April 14.

Rio 2016 has an additional 1.7 million tickets being held for contingencies. Of those tickets, 1.2 million of them are subject to the final venue capacity tallies. Rio 2016 communications director Mario Andrada said that as venues’ capacities are finalized the contingency tickets would be released.

Written by Aaron Bauerin Rio de Janeiro

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