Reports out of 2016 Olympic Games host city Rio de Janeiro surrounding political corruption and budgetary issues are not letting up, as a key Olympic venue is currently without water and power.
In the aftermath of the still-to-be-resolved issues surrounding Rio’s bribery scandal, electricity issues and its current health state of emergency, Rio’s Nilton Santos stadium is said to be without both running water and electricity due to unpaid bills.
According to China.org, the stadium, slated to host the athletics events at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, has accumulated approximately $225,000 in debt in the form of outstanding utility bills. Recent images of the would-be showpiece Olympic venue instead show a neglected state, complete with overgrown and dried out, discolored turf.
The stadium was originally built for the 2007 Pan American Games, but was closed since March 2013 due to a roof collapse caused by structural defects. Although reopened last year, the cost of repair work is currently at the center of a legal dispute between Rio city government and Botafogo football club. Rio’s city government actually owns the venue, but Botafogo administers the facility under a long-term lease agreement.
Inside The Games is reporting that an urgent meeting is set to take place tomorrow among stakeholders to discuss resolutions. “We have to look at who is responsible (for the unpaid bills) and will have an answer on Monday,” Botafogo president Carlos Eduardo Pereira said.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Rio was a horrible choice to host the Olympics. Absolutely horrible. Why the IOC picked Rio is beyond me. The games are very expensive to host and usually loses money, lots of it. The IOC executives must have been bribed with big money from the very corrupt Brazilian politicians who stand to make a fortune off the backs of the average poor Brazilian.
I’ll watch it on TV in my house. I lived in Brazil, you can have it!
They’ve got plenty of water in Guanabara Bay they can use. Since it is good enough for the rowers, sailors and swimmers, it is good enough for all other sports!
For many reasons it would be in the Brazilian peoples’ best interests for these Olympics to fail on some level. Not because of national pride but because most Brazilian people are struggling in the grips of a deepening recession and currency crisis. A Brazilian real is currently worth less than a quarter. A couple years ago it waa at 50cents or as high as 70 cents. This is not the high flying Brazil of Lula that won bids for the World cup and Olympics while the world was in awe of a strong Emerging economy riding the Petrobras wave. The reality is a country that lacks basic security, infrastructure and services. Rio moreover has the worst of the worst of… Read more »
Totally agree with u Hank . I have never been there but i got a strong intuition , even far away from the events . it feels like its going to be a real Mess , nothing less – whatever Money that will be put in to try save its delusion of grandeur . Millions of brazilians need to be cared for – the Grandeur of the Event won’t ever make their lives better and safer ,
ERVINFORTHEWIN,
unfortunately, our politicians are worse than American ones.The left behaves like right and the right like left when the situation appraises them.
A lot of the debt is corruption based and bad decisions without punishment.Several debts are to cover…older debts!
Marcos Gonçalves, you’re everywhere. LOL
I checked out that link and the previous stadium problems. “Roof supports, placed in four corners of the stadium, are cracked and the massive cover is moving, depending on wind”. It was only six years old when the problem was noticed in addition to all the rusting steel no doubt substandard materials used. Looking at the stadium you can see how far apart all the other support beams are and also they look really skinny and I doubt this thing would ever pass US engineering/construction standards. Its easy to understand why there is a dispute between the current tenant and the city which owns and leased it out.
This place should not be used for Olympic athletics stadium. It only… Read more »
I live in RIo since 2012,I’ve been in London and Sidney recently.I can say for you guys,that Rio is Soooooo far away from those cities in terms of urbanization and organization.The puplic transport is a joke,as many other things are.the logistic demmanded by the olympic games is something so far away from what I see in Rio.But the worst problem is violece.
Guys,I’m brazilian,I really love these country idependently of the many problems we have here,but if I can give you guys an advice is that you should not come.Stay in your countries and watch the games in your places!Sorry,but thats the reallity !
Global GDP is down 2 trillion which is the biggest yearly drop since 1980 . So really , if there are a few stadiums with unpaid utility bills anywhere , it is not unexpected . Basically a 1.5% slowdown /downturn . I suspect that 1.5 % is gone forever so we might as well adapt .
Certainly, we would all like to watch the Olympic games, but the media has been reporting that it may be another
Brazilian embarrassment. Let us wait and see.
Here’s the link to a snap of the stadium! ==> http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://stadiumdb.com/pictures/stadiums/bra/engenhao/engenhao01.jpg&imgrefurl=http://stadiumdb.com/stadiums/bra/engenhao&h=937&w=1400&tbnid=9-8DjFfrhK4mJM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=239&docid=QbBIn-qvKonICM&itg=1&usg=__VF2aNvhiy0UXmiHdJwfjZ5ZmTL0=
Named for Jao Havlange… The ex-President of FIFA and the CBF (Brazilian Football (Soccer) Federation). One of the most corrupt figures in the history of world sport. If he’s not No. 1, he’s in the top 5.