By Michael Pavitt |
Rio 2016 still has significant remaining debts, it has been reported two years on from the conclusion of the Olympic Games, but organizers have sought to highlight the use of venues.
Brazilian newspaper Globo reported on the legacy of the Games as the anniversary of the Closing Ceremony was marked.
Several legacy projects also remain outstanding, according to the weekly news program Fantástico.
“There are unpaid suppliers, there are labor debts, there are ticket dues, there are returns of sports facilities that we still have to return and adjust some things,” said Ricardo Trade, Rio 2016 executive director.
“Basically these four points make our debt.”
It is claimed French company GL Events, one of the main contractors for the event, are owed around $12.8 million.
The program also expressed concerns over the environmental project to clean up the heavily polluted Guanabara Bay.
Improving water pollution levels in the Bay by up to 80 per cent was a major bid time commitment.
Organizers previously said they had cleaned at least 60 percent of the Bay, however the program alleged that it remains heavily polluted by sewage.
A project to plant 13,000 seeds of 207 plant species to create a “Forest of Athletes,” which was announced during the Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony, has also hit problems.
It has been claimed the project has drawn to a standstill with uncertainty over who pays for the continuation of the scheme.
Rio 2016 and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have sought to challenge perceptions regarding the legacy of the Games, however, with organizers releasing a series of videos which highlight positive projects.
They claim new infrastructure and transport improvements have boosted three million people’s daily lives, asserting that the Games helped to deliver a “state of the art transport system.”
The videos also claim that venues at the Rio Olympic Park are “active all year round.”
This includes the Rio Olympic Velodrome, which was used for this year’s International Cycling Union Para-Cycling World Championships.
It was the first World Championships to be held at a venue used at the Games since their conclusion.
The Velodrome is home to the Brazilian cycling team.
Tennis courts and the three Carioca Arenas are also reportedly among those used regularly for events since the conclusion of the Games.
Temporary swimming pools used at the Games have been dismantled, relocated and are in use, it is stated.
The Olympic swimming pool has been relocated to Salvador.
Rio 2016 state that the Olympic golf course has protected animal species and delivered a “sport legacy.”
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.