Rio Deserves Good Luck: OpEd -- Top Story Replay

(ATR) The collapse of a seaside bikeway last week that likely claimed five lives is the latest blot in the lead-up to the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

With 100 days to go til opening ceremony, it’s about time for the luck to change for Rio de Janeiro.

While every Olympic city has its problems, Rio may be remembered for the range of issues that have plagued the city’s image ever since it was selected seven years ago. Pollution, crime, corruption, inertia and economics are just part of the list of woes the world has heard about Rio since the city was elected by the IOC.

Both Brazil and the IOC bubbled with optimism in 2009 when the road to Rio began. But the bubbling fizzled with the collapse of a once-booming economy that could no longer deliver the Olympics as promised. Budget cuts and reductions in scope have followed.

The uprising that could lead to the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is unrelated to the Olympics. But it is yet another distraction for a public already inflamed about widespread corruption involving elected officials and some of Brazil’s leading companies. Instead of fussing over Olympic ticket orders or excitement about the arrival of the Olympic torch Relay, the public is consumed by a different passion. On the plus side for Rio 2016, Olympic projects have escaped the stain of corruption.

Typical of these issues, solving them is outside the control of Rio 2016 organizers.

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Written by Ed Hula.

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