Two months away from the Games' opening ceremony, Rio is practically ready

Sixty days from now, on 5 August 2016, the eyes of the world will definitely be turned to Brazil at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games opening ceremony. The opening ceremony at the Maracanã will provide an idea of what to expect from the 17 days, when over 10 thousand athletes from 206 countries will compete in the first ever edition of the Olympic Games in South America. History will also be made with the first ever team made up of refugees competing at the Games.

The torch relay gauges the excitement in relation to the final stage of preparations, as it has visited 11 Brazilian states in 102 days, involving almost 4 thousand bearers. By the opening ceremony, all states will have been visited and over 12 thousand people will have carried the Olympic symbol. Yesterday, the torch visited the paradise like setting of Fernando de Noronha, in the state of Pernambuco.

In Rio de Janeiro, over 98% of the venues have been finished, according to information from City Hall. In the Barra Olympic Park, the only competition structure which is not ready yet is the velodrome. The others have been delivered and took part in the 44 test events conducted in the city. According to Rio 2016, the rehearsal period involved 7 thousand athletes, 6 thousand staff and 11,500 volunteers.

In the Deodoro Olympic Park, as shown on photos and videos, the temporary stands are being put up at the BMX track, Canoe Slalom Stadium, Deodoro Stadium and National Equestrian Centre.

Mobility

Last weekend, the first stretch of the Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) was officially opened. With the new transport mode, it will be easier for tourists to move around in the city centre, visit museums, historical buildings and churches. The metro line 4, which will connect the South Zone to the Barra region, will be opened for fans coming to the Games by 1 August.

The airports are going through the last logistics and infrastructure tests. Galeão, Rio de Janeiro's main airport, opened the South Pier in May, with 26 new boarding bridges. São Paulo has also been through accessibility tests. Previous assessments are strategic not just for tourists and athletes, but also to ensure the safe arrival of the horses for the equestrian events, the weapons used in the shooting competitions, in addition to the accessible arrival of wheelchair users and athletes with different grades of moving related limitations for the Paralympics.

Security/Safety

The Games' Security and Defence Plan, which will involve over 85 thousand professionals from the three government levels, took another important step last week. The integrated protocols have been validated, documents that have all the details of each operation. The protocols refer to key aspects of the work, like inspections and countermeasures against bombs and explosives, security at the ceremonies, accreditation, security for dignitaries, athletes and medals, anti-terrorism measures, among others.

The 54 Integrated Public Security and Urban Organisation Plans (PISOU) for the Olympic venues were submitted to the Rio 2016 Organising Committee last April. The documents are the result of 18 months of work done by 20 security, defence and intelligence agencies, in addition to representatives of the Organising Committee at the scope of the State Commission for Public Security and Civil Defence of the Rio 2016 Games (COESRIO2016).

Throughout over 450 sessions, around 160 people decided that the 215 actions to be implemented at each venue are under the charge of the public security forces. The venues include training facilities, competition areas in Rio, as well as the Olympic Villa, Referees Villa, the Main Press Centre (MPC) and the International Broadcast Centre (IBC).

Health

In order to reaffirm at the international level the actions conducted by the country to ensure the health safety of fans, athletes and heads of states during the Games, the Minister of Health Ricardo Barros attended the 69th World Health Assembly, organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva Switzerland. He also visited the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters. He provided details of several procedures adopted in relation to the fight against the Aedes aegytpi and reinforced that Games time corresponds to a period of low incidence in relation to diseases linked to the mosquito.

brasil2016.gov.br