Rio 2016 Hosts IOC President, Inspection Team

(ATR) The IOC Coordination Commission looks for progress towards the 2016 Olympics.

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The popular tourist attraction the Sugarloaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar) is among the most famous landmarks in Rio de Janeiro. The peak can be accessed by cable cars and from the top you have a glorious view of the Guanabara Bay and Copacabana. Brazil 26/02 2014. (Photo by: PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images)
The popular tourist attraction the Sugarloaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar) is among the most famous landmarks in Rio de Janeiro. The peak can be accessed by cable cars and from the top you have a glorious view of the Guanabara Bay and Copacabana. Brazil 26/02 2014. (Photo by: PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images)

(ATR) Progress from Rio 2016 will be expected as the IOC convenes its eighth Coordination Commission meeting.

The 17-member commission will begin its meeting on Feb. 24, with some of its members arriving early in Rio de Janeiro.

Members of the commission were invited to take in the Carnival parade of champions with Mayor Eduardo Paes Saturday night. The parade atthe Sambadrome, the Olympic venue for archery, honors the winning samba school from the 2015 Carnival.

"With just over 500 days to go we are moving swiftly from the planning to the execution phase and we look forward to updating the Coordination Commission on [our] progress," Carlos Nuzman, Rio 2016 president, told Around the Rings.

The IOC will look for assurances on the controversy-riddled golf, sailing, rowing, and Deodoro Cluster venues.

In December,Paes guaranteed that all venues would be finished by the third-quarter of 2015.Golf is scheduled to have a test event for November 2015, but due to delays in construction it is not clear when the test event will take place.

Concerns over the water qualityfor the sailing and rowing venues have outside observers questioning the commitment to an environmental legacy.

Construction on the Deodoro Complex began in July 2014. Andrew Ryan, director of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations, told ATR in October 2014 there was "not a moment to lose" in Deodoro.

Another situation the IOC will closely monitor is the delivery of the International Broadcast Center.

Around the Rings has learned that concerns remain that the IBC will not be delivered on time, despite already established delays in the deadline for the project.

In December, Olympic Broadcasting Services CEO Yiannis Exarchos told ATR that OBS needs 7 months to install the cables and other infrastructure necessary to set up the necessary broadcast studios ahead of the Games.

Exarchos said the new deadline for the project is Oct. 31, and delivering the building later "is not a risk we would like to take,"

Non-Games infrastructure progress will be monitored as well.

On Feb. 11 the municipal government of Rio de Janeiro announced the route for the Transolímpica will be changed to ensure that fewer families will be relocated to build the highway.

The 25km stretch of freeways is supposed to connect the Olympic Park and Deodoro Zone to reduce the traffic time for athletes and officials between the two venue clusters.

The first Chinese-manufactured trains have arrived for the Rio de Janeiro subway, but questions remain if the entire project will be finished in time for the Games.

Rio 2016 officials staged a security exercise outside Olympic venues on Feb. 11, simulating a hostage situation on public transport.

IOC president Thomas Bach will be on hand this week, arriving in Rio over the weekend. He will lead the first meeting of the IOC Executive Board in Rio de Janeiro since the city was selected in 2009 as Olympic host. The EB meets from Wednesday to Saturday.

Written by Aaron Bauer

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