Rio's uphill battle to host the Games

Rio de Janeiro, this bustling city of 6 million people (14 million if one includes the greater metro area) is the second largest city in Brazil and is famous for its statue Christ the Redeemer, which sits atop Corcovado Mountain and has looked down upon the city for almost 100 years. It is also famous for the internationally known Carnivale, the city’s samba schools, the fabulous beaches that grace our shoreline and Sugarloaf Mountain with its ancient cable car.

The city is an exciting and eclectic mix of personalities, cultures, locals, tourists and business interests. Yet, often it is reduced to just one thing, a developing city in the ‘developing world’. Rio de Janeiro is afflicted by high crime and any number of socio-economic issues, like many major cities throughout the world. It was primarily because of these issues that Rio was heavily criticized in its bid to host the Olympics.

The experience that Rio, and indeed Brazil, is having at the moment is very similar to that of South Africa in the run-up to FIFA 2010. There were allegations of corruption in the South African government, many observers became obsessed with the crime rate in South Africa and the ability of the country’s infrastructure to handle the influx of visitors for the events, let alone the capacity of security forces to prevent any terrorist attacks. But, in the end South Africa hosted the World Cup without incident and is now recognized worldwide for this feat, which seemed to take many by surprise.

The gaze has now turned to Rio and there is much-a-do in some circles about the aspect of safety in the second largest city in Brazil. The recent hotel hostage crisis where gunmen took 35 people hostage in the InterContinental has stoked the embers of discontent at Rio’s successful campaign to host the games.

International and Rio de Janeiro news reports show that none of the hostages or police were killed, but the security forces success in securing the hostages released is largely overlooked. The frenzy is partly because Rio is the first city in South America ever to host the Olympics and also one of the few cities outside the so-called ‘first world’ to be given the opportunity.

It is also untested in this field, which led to criticism from the international community. José Maria Odriozola, vice president of the Spanish Olympic Committee, has publicly criticized the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for electing Rio de Janeiro and has called Rio “the worst of the four candidates” that were shortlisted for consideration. Richard Daley, the Mayor of Chicago, was similarly condescending remarking that hosting the Olympics was not the same as hosting the Football World Cup.

This is true; hosting the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics are completely different.

The Olympics are different from the FIFA World Cup (which Brazil will host in 2014), because the games are all played in the same city. The world cup is hosted by the country, where as the Olympics Rio has to pull off on its own. The concerns are, therefore, justified, but more often than not, they are presented in a fashion that paints Rio as a one dimensional city.

Rio has been spending large amounts of money and will spend yet more, on hosting the event and the security forces have begun an extensive campaign to change the image of the city when  it comes to security. This in itself has become a source of criticism with many declaring the US$14 billion set aside for the Olympics and the development of the city to be a waste that would be better spent on housing, public hospitals and education.

City officials counter that hosting the Olympics will provide a platform for needed investment in public services, public transport, utilities and will generate further investment from the private sector and the global economy by putting Rio on the map in a new light, not simply as a crime-ridden party destination, but as a legitimate city ready to do business with the world.

Many of the major development projects overlap in terms of their preparation for the FIFA World Cup and Olympics. For instance, Rio de Janeiro news media has reported that a US$5.5 fund has been set aside for improvements to, and expansion of, the city’s public transport system, while a US$18.7 billion high-speed train is being built by the national government for the World Cup, but this will also benefit the city and her visitor’s during the Olympics.

Many of the city’s major tourist attractions will be redeveloped and restored, primarily the most historical and culturally significant landmarks in the city, of which there are many, because Rio de Janeiro is almost 500 years old, having been founded in the 16^th century.

A major revamp of the city physically and intellectually is needed, in preparation for 2016 the image of the city needs to change and this will be done through real-world improvements in security and public behavior, as well as through better educating the world about Rio de Janeiro and what it has to offer.

According to Rio de Janeiro news reports, the police have begun to crack-down on anti-social behavior from partying tourists and locals as part of a citywide campaign to change Rio’s reputation as a mere party capital, urinating is no longer tolerated in public, for a start…a good start, but more than this is needed clearly in order for visitors to truly see why we call our home “The Marvelous City”.

Rio de Janeiro has been trying since 1936 to host the Olympics, we made an application then and were rejected, we tried again in 2004 and got rejected again, our bid to host the 2012 Olympics received a similar response. Now, finally, we have the opportunity in 2016. We aren’t going to let it fail because, like South Africa, Brazil is a country used to be under-estimated and so is its second largest city.