Two yeas ago, Brazil, a country known where “everything is delayed,” succesfully hosted the 2014 World Cup of Soccer despite encountering numerous problems like activists protesting the cost of its staging.
And barely a year from now, Brazil will again play host to a to a much, much bigger event—the Summer Olympic Games—where the finest athletes from 206 countries, all 10,500 of them, will be vying for honors in 42 sports over 17 days from August 5 to 25.
After which, Rio de Janeiro will also play host to the Paralympics where around 4,350 ahletes from 176 coutries will compete in 23 sports.
As in the 2014 Soccer World Cup, many had expressed doubs that the City of Rio de Janeiro might end up short of completing the requirements for the needed inftrastructure.
But if Rio Mayor Edardo Paes is to be believed, everything is on track and the still-being constructed Olympic Park and all competition venues and other facilities will be ready when the world’s greratest sports show raises its curtains on August, 2016.
“All the construction work is on schedule, “ Paes said during the meeting of the chiefs of mission held three weeks ago which was attended by Philippine Olympic Committee vice president Joey Romasanta.
Romasana himself attested during a phone patch interview with the Tropang Bistag-Balitang SCOOP radio program aired over Eagle Broadcasting’s DZEC last Thursday that the huge Olympic Park is so far 82 percent ready.
“We were made to make an ocular inspection of all the constructions going on, including the Olympic Village where athletes, including ours, will be billeted, which, according to them is 89 percent completed,” Romasanta told this writer and program host along with Hero Robregado.
“Well, there still are stadiums na kung titingnan mo ay puro bakal pa and venues na ginagawa pa, but as the mayor promised, matatapos lahat at walang magiging problema,” the national deleation’s chef de mission added.
“As in the words of Mayor Paes, the coming Olympics will show the world a new Brazil,” Romasanta added.
“There will be a legacy to create in this country a culture that things can be done on time,” Romasanta quoted Paes as saying.
Even Internarnational Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach, who recently visited Rio, praised the way preparations are going on.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, for his part, vowed to “delight” the world with his country’s hosting of the epic event.