The vice-president for the IOC has called the preparations for the 2016 Rio Olympics the ‘worst-ever’. (Source: BBC)
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Preparations for the 2016 Rio Olympics have come under fierce criticism from the International Olympic Committee vice-president as concerns grow over whether the venues will be ready for the Games.
Australian John Coates said that preparations were the “worst” ever seen and that the IOC had taken “unprecedented” action by placing experts in the local organising to help ensure that the Games take place.
“The situation is critical on the ground,” he warned.
The news comes at a time when Brazil is already facing tremendous international criticism as it struggles to be ready in time for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which starts on June 12.
Coates, who has been involved in the Olympics for nearly 40 years, has made six trips to Rio de Janeiro as part of the commission responsible for overseeing the preparations, a BBC Sports report said.
One of the experts embedded in the local committee was a construction project manager, he added.
“The IOC has adopted a more hands-on role,” he said. “It is unprecedented for the IOC, but there is no Plan B. We are going to Rio.”
Coates added that, in his opinion, the situation was worse than in 2004, when there were concerns about the preparations for the Athens Games.
“It’s the worst I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “We have become very concerned. They are not ready in many, many ways. We have to make it happen and that is the IOC approach. You can’t walk away from this.”
Although preparations for the 2004 Athens Olympics were disrupted by delays in construction and service deliver, the venues and infrastructure were ultimately delivered on time.
Alarmingly, Coates said that construction on some venues hadn’t even started in Rio, which will host South America’s first Olympics. Meanwhile, infrastructure is significantly delayed and the city has “social issues that need to be addressed,” the BBC report said.
He added that Rio organisers have the same number of staff – 600 – as the London organisers did at the same stage of preparations for 2012, but they did not have the necessary experience. He pointed out that it was proving difficult for the IOC to get the answers that they needed.
“No one is able to give us answers at the moment,” Coates said.
“Can they use the car parks in the village for recovery centres? What will be the time to take from this venue to this venue?
All of those things, they’re being fobbed off.”
Coates also claimed that only two people were working in the test events department for Rio, with tournaments scheduled to start this year.