Most Brazilians approve of the 2016 Games

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Brazilians support the staging of the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Approval rate reached 65.9% of the Brazilian population. The data is part of an unprecedented survey, commissioned by the Ministry of Sport to the FSBPesquisa Institute. In total, 2,002 people (over the age of 16) were interviewed between 13 and 18 May, in 143 municipalities throughout all of the country's regions. Interviews were conducted at people's homes. The margin for error is two percentage points, with a confidence interval of 95%.

Brazilians are also confident in the performance of athletes. For 63.7% of them, Brazil will finish the Olympic Games in one of the top ten positions. The same confidence is seen in relation to Paralympic athletes. For 63.1%of Brazilians, the country will finish the Paralympics in fifth. At the London Games in 2012, Brazil finished the Olympics in 22nd, with 17 medals in total and the Paralympics in 7th, winning 43 medals. Among Brazilians, 68.9% stated to be interested in watching Paralympic athletes. For the Olympics, this interest is shown by 63% of Brazilians. For most of the population (78.7%), the change in president will not affect the staging of the Games.

Better than the World Cup

The survey also showed that for 83.2% of Brazilians, the Games' organisation will be better or just as good as the level seen at the 2014 World Cup. For the population, the Federal Government (59.6%) and its branches are the main bodies in charge of organisation, followed by the Rio 2016 Committee (22.9%), the International Olympic Committee (14.6%), the Rio de Janeiro State Government (7.1%), sponsors (6.7%) and Rio de Janeiro City Hall (3.6%).

Legacy

When pointing out the Games related benefits, 59.9% of Brazilians state that staging the event will bring more legacy to Rio de Janeiro. For 47.5%, the legacy has national reach. Among the benefits pointed out, Brazilians stated spontaneously, economy related improvements, employment generation, incentive to sport and tourism, new sport venues, improvements made to sporting infrastructure, hotel sector and Rio de Janeiro's image.

Brazilians have also pointed out concerns in relation to the Games, like the embezzlement of public funds, safety, future use of the sport venues, unemployment, rise in inflation and the non-delivery of building works. Not once did Brazilians point out the Zika virus spontaneously as a concern.

Source: Ministry of Sport