Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Mario Osava *
The idea that Rio represents developing countries, especially those of South America and Africa, two regions which have never hosted the Olympics, seems to have won out in the vote in the capital of Denmark, along with the gaiety and natural beauty of Rio, whose nickname is “Cidade Maravilhosa” or Marvelous City.
All four of the finalists – Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo – have the conditions to offer the necessary infrastructure and security, but Rio is “the happiest city in the world according to a survey by Forbes magazine,” Mayor Eduardo Paes said prior to Friday’s vote by the International Olympic Committee.
Rio beat Madrid, Spain in the final vote, after Chicago, Illinois – U.S. President Barack Obama’s hometown – and Tokyo, Japan were eliminated in the first round of voting.
Paes told IPS ahead of the vote that “anyone who has taken part in a festival or celebration in Rio knows it is different.” He mentioned the New Year’s celebration, which draws “more than two million people to the beach” every year, and of course “Carnival, when people flood the streets.”
Although the mayor acknowledged that “happiness” and fun were not enough to win the bid, he said that “if the Olympics truly want to be global, they have to come to regions like South America and Africa,” which have been excluded in the past.
The problem of urban violence, meanwhile, the weak point of Rio’s bid, was played down by the mayor and other officials in Brazil. Paes pointed out that the industrialised world often faces terrorist threats, and said that all of the cities “can create a safe environment during the Olympic Games.”
A substantial improvement in public security, “with the necessary and promised investments,” is the hope shared by the people of Rio with respect to the 2016 Games, said Sebastião Santos, coordinator of Viva Comunidade, a non-governmental organisation working for security and “social inclusion.”
Despite the frustration that the Pan American Games, held in Rio in 2007, left “no real social legacy,” it is hoped that the 2014 World Football Cup, whose matches will be played in 12 Brazilian cities, and the 2016 Olympic Games will provide a boost for overcoming the city’s serious problem of urban violence, he told IPS.
“There are already strategies and experiences that have been successful in reducing crime rates in the country; all that is needed is the political will,” said Santos.
Mass transit and “public policies on the environment” are other critical areas in the city where civil society hopes the experience of hosting the Games will have a positive influence, he added.
Besides public spending and investments, it is necessary for society to participate in finding solutions to these problems, and that participation should “intensify” as a result of Rio being chosen to host the 2016 Games, said Santos.
The Ministry of Justice’s National Programme of Security and Citizenship (PRONASCI), a broad range of 94 different initiatives combining the fight against crime with preventive social action, which was launched in August 2007, is a triumph of the Olympics project in Rio, where violent crime rates are coming down, said Sports Minister Orlando Silva.
Rio was able to beat its competitors from much richer countries for several reasons, said the minister: because its proposal “proved it had the technical capacity” to hold the Games; the Brazilian economy can guarantee investments, as “the first country to overcome the current global economic crisis”; “there is harmony between the national, state and municipal powers” in backing the Games; and the city is accumulating abundant experience in hosting and organising sports events.
Besides the 2007 Pan American Games, Rio will host military games in 2011, the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2013 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, he pointed out.
The optimism with which sports and government authorities awaited the results of Friday’s vote, bolstered by news reports that insisted that Rio was the favourite, generated a sense of expectation and excitement in the city.
Tens of thousands of people gathered at Copacabana, Rio’s most famous beach (along with Ipanema) to watch the news coverage of the vote in Copenhagen and celebrate the triumph.
The Lula administration and Rio de Janeiro government have pledged to spend 14 billion dollars to ensure that the 2016 Games are a success, including public works and reforms that are to substantially improve life in the city, while strengthening its already formidable tourist attractions.
The competition, which received heavy backing from President Lula, who has been campaigning in Copenhagen since Wednesday, accompanied by several ministers and even the president of the Central Bank, has a strong economic element: the Games are expected to bring Brazil an estimated 50 billion dollars in investment.
*Fabiana Frayssinet in Rio de Janeiro also contributed to this report.