The Olympic challenge

Rio de Janeiro won the vote to host this year’s Olympics during the IOC Congress in Copenhagen in 2009. Four cities were in contention in the final poll after Prague, Baku and Doha were scratched out of the list. Rio, Tokyo, Chicago and Madrid were the finalists subjected to three rounds of voting.

In the first round, Madrid took 28 votes, Rio de Janeiro 26, Tokyo 22 and Chicago 18. The top three went to the second round where Rio polled 46, Madrid 29 and Chicago 20. Finally, Rio claimed 66 votes over Madrid’s 32 to clinch the hosting rights.

Seven years after the vote, you wonder if the IOC is regretting the awarding of the rights to Rio. The Games are scheduled on Aug. 5-21 and over 10,500 athletes from 207 countries will compete in 306 events of 28 sports in 33 venues in Rio and five venues in other Brazilian cities, including Sao Paolo and Brasilia. The Olympics will welcome first-time participants Kosovo and South Sudan and add rugby sevens and golf to the calendar.

The Athletes Village is touted to be the biggest ever in the Olympics with 80,000 chairs, 70,000 tables, 29,000 mattresses, 60,000 clothes hangers, 6,000 TV sets and 10,000 smartphones to be given away by Samsung. The complex is composed of 31 buildings of 17 floors each with a total of 3,604 apartments. The dining hall has a seating capacity of 5,000 and will operate around the clock.

Over 500,000 visitors are expected to descend on Rio and there are serious concerns that they may be exposed to the Zika virus, a dangerous “super bacteria,” criminals and civil unrest stemming from an unstable government. The challenge won’t only be on the field of competition. The challenge will be to survive Rio and for visitors to return home safe and sound.

The Philippines was recently represented as a signatory in an open letter by 150 international doctors, scientists and researchers urging the delay of the Games until the Zika virus is placed under control. Experts from other countries like the US, UK, Canada, Turkey and even Brazil said proceeding with the Olympics would be “irresponsible” and “unethical.” The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a memorandum calling for pregnant women to avoid visiting Rio, the second most affected city in Brazil by the Zika crisis.

“WHO must revisit the question of Zika and postponing and/or moving the Games,” said the letter. “We recommend that WHO convene an independent group to advise it and the IOC in a transparent, evidence-based process in which science, public health and the spirit of sport come first.”

But Brazilian health minister Ricardo Barros doused cold water on the call which he described as an exaggeration and an excess of zeal. “There is no increased risk of the Zika virus spreading during the Olympics,” he said, noting that Brazil’s population is only 15 percent of the 1.3 billion people in 60 countries exposed to the virus. “The WHO director general Margaret Chan has already confirmed that she will come to the Olympics and this is a sign of safety during this period of low transmission of Zika.”

Rio isn’t just afflicted with the Zika problem. Crime is another thorn. It was recently reported that last month, a Spanish sailing gold medallist was robbed at gunpoint in a popular city district. Massive unemployment has led to rampant robberies and surely, tourists are primary targets. About 80,000 soldiers will be deployed to provide security but with over 500,000 visitors to protect, it’s nearly impossible to fend off the bad guys.

Then, there is the “super bacteria” found in Rio’s waterways which are sewage infested. The “super bacteria” have contaminated the beaches where sailing, windsurfing, open-water and triathlon swimming will be held. A Reuters report said the “super bacteria can cause hard-to-treat urinary, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and blood-stream infections along with meningitis…and studies show that these bacteria contribute to death in up to half of patients infected.”

Tourists could also be caught in the crossfire of civil unrest as supporters of deposed president Dilma Rousseff have taken to the streets to protest the installation of acting president Michel Temer. Rousseff, 68, is the first female Brazilian president after 35 Chief Executives and was impeached by the lower house last April for violating fiscal rules in spending the equivalent of P773 Billion without legislative approval. A trial by the Senate will decide her fate unless a popular revolt creates an uprising. Her trial could take place before the Olympics begin.

With all the problems facing Rio, you wonder if the IOC could’ve anticipated the dire conditions in 2009. At hindsight, Madrid would’ve been a better choice or even Chicago that failed to make it to the second round of voting. But the fact remains that Rio won fair and square.

IOC president Thomas Bach is now in Rio for a last inspection and is scheduled to meet Temer in Brasilia tomorrow. Calls for a postponement of the Games or a transfer to a “safe” haven are growing by the day. It’s almost unthinkable to delay or move the Olympics out of Rio. As it is, the city is down on its knees in a sad state. Abandoning Rio at this stage would kill the city.

But if the lives of 500,000 visitors will be endangered, by all means, avert the disaster.  Bach must make an unemotional assessment of the situation. If he doesn’t like what he sees, then the world has the right to know. The IOC voted Rio to host so if casualties emerge from the Olympics, the city won’t be to blame. It will be on the IOC’s conscience.