Rio Report -- Search Underway for Olympic Architects; Brazil Gets Its Own Golf Tour

Rio 2016 Calling All Architects

Competition is underway to design portions of Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Village.

The organizing committee, the Institute of Architects of Brazil and Rio mayor Eduardo Paes kicked off the search Tuesday for architectural plans for Rio’s Port Zone that will be renovated because of the Games.

Their aim is to collect a broad variety of design solutions for, among other things, the media village and officials’ housing.

The architects are also expected to show and suggest how the new construction can be transformed into hotels and convention centers after the Games.

The competition runs until Jan. 18, and the winners will be announced in February.

City Incentivizes Hotel Construction

Rio de Janeiro's city council gave its blessing last week to a plan to boost hotel business ahead of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

The incentives will open the way for the construction of nine new hotels in different parts of town, especially in Barra da Tijuca. Property tax discounts of up to 60 percent will be given to the new hotels between 2015 and 2019 as part of the plans.

The city has 29,000 hotel rooms but needs 50,000 by Games-time to comply with the IOC regulations.

Brazil Launches Golf Circuit Ahead of Games

Brazil will have its own professional golf tour to prepare athletes for the sport’s return to the Olympic program.

The Brazilian Golf Circuit will feature four major tournaments in 2011, the Brazilian Golf Confederation announced.

"The creation of an official circuit is vital for the preparationof the athletes for the Olympic Games in 2016", BGC president Rachid Hadura Orra said in a statement.

Each event will last three days and pit 60 golfers against each other competing for $60,000 in prize money.

The circuit’s best players will qualify for the Brazilian Open in December of 2011, where the top 100 professional golfers in South America will compete.

Olympic Volleyball Champions Honored

Brazilian beach volleyball players Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede have made history with their induction into the sport’s Hall of Fame.

A ceremony was held Friday for this year’s inductees in the city of Holyoke, Mass., the birthplace of volleyball.

Behar, 41, and Bede, 37, won Olympic silver medals in 2000 and 2004.

Written in Rio de Janeiro by Phil de Wit.