Foundation Nearly Complete on Rio 2016 Olympic Aquatics Stadium

As anticipated, with the completion of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, construction has accelerated on the venues for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

July 30th marks 737 days (next week will be two years out) until the beginning of the Olympics and 770 until the Paralympics, although the venues need to be completed in advance to allow for test events. Those test events begin next week, with the Aquece Rio International Sailing Regatta 2014 from August 2nd-9th, and will include 23 Olympic medalists.

Specifically with regard to the event’s primary swimming venue, the Olympic Aquatics Stadium in the Barra Park cluster, the buildings foundations have been laid – the last update on July 10th said that all foundations in the Barra group were “almost complete,” and now three weeks later they are complete, with noticeable progress being made on the above-ground structures.

Barra is the main Olympic park, and the swim stadium will seat 18,000 spectators when completed. Earlier this year, IOC officials, including the head of the Australian Olympic Committee, were very critical of Rio’s progress in construction. While organizing officials did refer to that as an important “wake up call,” they’ve also said publicly that they thought the reference to being the worst Olympic preparations ever were an exaggeration.

Click here to see a photo gallery of progress on the Barra Olympic Park.

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hswimmer
9 years ago

Hopefully I can watch.. My Grandfather said he might take me as a graduation trip, he has been to Brazil before, Rio looks nice!

Reply to  hswimmer
9 years ago

hswimmer,
i am living in Rio de Janeiro all my life.I have some tips for you:
-Do not let your Grampa schedule your travel in 2016.The prices will be skyhigh near competition.Decide your travel(and all details) till the end of 2015.
-Do not choose a Hotel far from the place of competition.Traffic down here is a Chaos.I live 25miles from the place of swimming competition.I still dont know if i am gonna watch live or on tv.If i go, i will have to find some place to crash in.That 25 miles can be 3 hours(or more) in a hard day.
-The prices are not cheap as some people expect, But if you are a foreigner, NEVER… Read more »

hswimmer
Reply to  DDias
9 years ago

Thanks for the tips!

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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