Athens – In an event carried out this Wednesday, in Athens, Greece, the International Olympic Committee announced that Rio de Janeiro is one of the candidate cities to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The announcement made by the International Olympic Committee Director Comunication, Giselle Davies, also named Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid as cities that are able to host the 2016 Games. Doha, Praga and Baku were eliminated by the IOC.
The Brazilian delegation present at the announcement included Carlos Arthur Nuzman, president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee and Rio 2016 Bid Committee; Orlando Silva Júnior, Minister of Sports; Sergio Cabral, Governor of the State of Rio de Janeiro; César Maia, Mayor of the City of Rio de Janeiro; and João Havelange, FIFA President of Honor and Senior Member of IOC. The following also attended the event: Carlos Roberto Osório, Rio 2016 Secretary-General; Leonardo Gryner, Rio 2016 Marketing and Communication Director; Edson Menezes, representative of the Rio 2016 Business Council; Ricardo Leyser, Federal Government Secretary; Eduardo Paes, Sports and Tourism State Secretary; and Ruy César, Rio 2016 Special Secretary. As for Rio 2007, collaboration among the three governmental levels will be crucial for the success of the Rio 2016 project.
For the president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee, the IOC announcement proves the quality of the Rio de Janeiro bid. “We are very happy with IOC’s decision because it is the first time Rio de Janeiro is a finalist in the effort to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This shows the IOC recognizes the development of Brazilian sports and trusts that Brazil is able to stage the Olympic Games. But just the first battle has been won. The other cities are extremely strong and we have to prepare an excellent dossier of our Olympic project. We will work together, with the three governments – federal, state and city -, towards the 2016 Games. The in Brazil will impact millions of teenagers in South America. The fact that we are one of the finalists increases our responsibility to come up to the Olympic world’s trust and expectations in regard to the Rio de Janeiro bid,” stated Nuzman.
The Minister of Sports Orlando Silva pointed out that Brazil will make every effort for Rio to be the 2016 host city. “This is a great time for Brazilian sports. Undoubtedly, IOC’s decision is reflects the quality of the Rio de Janeiro bid. Brazil offers highly favorable settings to host the Games, with economic stability, consolidated democracy and a cycle of sustainable economic development. The Rio de Janeiro bid is a project that mobilizes the entire Brazilian society. We are committed to working in partnership with the Brazilian Olympic Committee, the private sector and the State and City governments to stage in Rio de Janeiro the best Olympic Games in history, with the trademark of happiness and competence of the Brazilian people,” explained the Minister.
Governor Sergio Cabral stated that the State of Rio will do whatever it takes to host the Olympic Games. “The presence of Rio de Janeiro among the finalist cities shows the level of trust of the international sports community in Brazil, especially after the Rio 2007 Pan American Games. The bid dossier is being prepared to meet all IOC’s requirements. The Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro will provide whatever is necessary for the 2016 Olympic Games,” Cabral stated.
Mayor Cesar Maia pointed out the importance of the Rio 2007 Pan American Games in this process. “The Rio de Janeiro City government is both honored and happy because it did its homework to defend its city. To have won the bid for the 2007 Pan American Games, the investments made to stage it and the quality of its organization were certainly essential for the success of the event. The new challenge for 2016 just increases our enthusiasm and commitment,” said Cesar Maia.
In Brazil, the president of the Brazilian Paralympic Committee, Vital Severino, celebrated IOC’s decision. “We were confident we would move to the candidacy phase because the Rio de Janeiro bid for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games is quite solid. We have a great challenge ahead of us – that of bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Games to South America for the first time. The Brazilian Paralympic Committee is part of a strong current that roots for Rio, believes in Rio and, above all, works for Rio to bring the planet’s greatest sports event to our country,” he stated.
Now, the candidate cities will prepare a dossier detailing the 19 candidacy items. This dossier will be delivered to IOC by February 12, 2009. In April and May 2009 an Inspection Commission will visit the cities and prepare a report, which will serve as basis for the IOC members to vote. The election of city that will host the 2016 Games is scheduled for October 2, 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Check the main points of the Rio 2016 project:
Financing – The budget of Rio’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games is US$42 million. The financing of the candidacy will be equally divided between the three governmental levels: Federal, State and City, and the private sector will participate in order to reduce public investments.
Sports Venues – All competitions will take place within the city limits of Rio de Janeiro. Rio 2016 presents a compact and operationally efficient Master Plan having 50% of the competition venues within 5 to 10 minutes from the Olympic Village and 80% of the venues within 30 minutes. The only sports venues outside Rio will be the regional cities for the football preliminaries, which are planned for Brasília, Belo Horizonte, São Paulo and Salvador. The confirmation of the football Olympic cities is dependent on FIFA’s final decision for the 2014 World Cup host cities.
The Rio Olympic Project creates an Olympic Park in Barra. This is the concept used in the last four Olympic projects (Sydney, Athens, Beijing and London). Fundamental non-competition venues (Olympic Village, Media Villages, MPC, IBC and Official IOC and IPC Hotels) will also be located in Barra close to the Olympic Park. The Olympic Training Center will be built in this area, no matter if the Rio bid wins or not.
The venues plan proposes a total of 34 venues within four zones:
Barra: At the heart of the concept is the Barra zone, located in of newer and fastest growing regions of the city, framed by spectacular mountains, beaches and lagoons. This area will house 20 of the sports (56%) in 14 venues as well as key non-competition venues.
Copacabana: With its natural beauties and public spaces, the region will stage 8 sports to be carried out in 5 venues, including the Copacabana beach itself. This Zone is the site for a range of outdoor events with dramatic, iconic scenery creating broadcast and spectator appeal.
Maracanã: 4 venues will be located in Maracanã, taking advantage of the renovation of the complex for the FIFA 2014 World Cup and of the fact that it is located in the central area of the city demanding investments for urban recovery, including the Port region. This region will house 5 sports and the Opening and Closing Ceremonies in the Country’s most emblematic sports stage.
Deodoro: The Deodoro zone is the target of social development projects for its high concentration of young people and was chosen to stage 7 sports for having successfully hosted several competitions (equestrian sports, shooting and modern pentathlon) during the Rio 2007 Pan American Games. The main characteristic of this region is the great availability of green areas, reason why it was chosen to receive the X Park. The X Park will be a huge space for Olympic and adventure sports, meeting a desire of the International Olympic Committee to provide increased connection with the new generation. It will host the Canoe-kayak (slalom), Cycling (BMX and Mountain Bike) competitions. In addition to these venues, a Modern Pentathlon National Center will be built, using the existing facilities constructed for the Rio 2007 Pan American Games.
Transportation – The transportation solutions developed together with the Federal, State and City governments meet the long-term needs of the city and are compatible with the time required for their construction and the Country’s investment capacity. The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic projects are in accordance with the city’s transportation development plans and are supported by the three levels of government involved.
One of the main solutions adopted for the Olympic and Paralympic Games is the implementation of three high-capacity transport systems BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), in the following corridors: Barra-Deodoro, Barra-North Zone and Barra-South Zone. The deployment of BRT systems presents feasible costs and faster execution when compared to underground subway. Thus, priority is being given to mass transportation to meet the demand by the population in general and by the Games spectators. These corridors are an important, long-waited-for legacy to the city.
The transportation planning for Rio 2016 is oriented not only to the improvement of the city’s transport structure or to the implementation of new projects but also to the development and implementation of technological and operational measures (rationalization of public transportation, discouragement of use of private vehicles, improvement of the traffic control system, creation of a single agency to manage city transportation, among others). In addition, the Olympic Games will take place during school and university holidays, which naturally reduces traffic demands in the city.
Accommodations – The city of Rio de Janeiro will offer 49,570 rooms for the 2016 Olympic Games in hotels, two media villages, referees accommodations and cruise ships, among others. This quantity comfortably meets IOC’s requirements of 40,000 rooms for mandatory for Games constituents.
Environment – According to the project presented this Tuesday, one of the major environmental legacies of the Olympic Games will be the environmental awareness program targeting the wellness of the future generations through the development of sustainability-promoting actions covering the following aspects: climatic changes, waste management and handling, biodiversity, social and cultural inclusion, health and quality of life. The cleaning of the Jacarepaguá and Barra lagoons will be one of the priorities in the environmental agenda of Rio 2016, which will benefit the communities around it.
Security – The internationally praised Pan American Games experience will be used as a platform for the security plan to be implemented for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The safety provided by Rio de Janeiro during large scale events is traditionally recognized, as it was proved during the Rio 2007. For the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, security will be managed in an integrated way, under an unified command, associated to a social integration policy with local communities. This program will be improved to meet the Brazilian society’s and the International Olympic Committee’s requirements. The investments in security to be made for the FIFA 2014 World Cup will be a guarantee of advanced delivery of a series of projects in this area. Forty thousand agents will be used in the Rio 2016 security plan.
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