The ‘See you in Rio’ facebook app enables you to insert a photo of your face behind figures standing in front of a range of Brazilian backdrops: beaches, mountain panoramas, football stadiums. The government has begun a determined campaign to persuade the world that they will be fully prepared for the games in four years’ time.
Britain was represented by a contingent of nationally significant figures at the close of the Athens 2008 ceremony: Boris Johnson, Princess Anne, David Beckham, Lord Seb Coe and Hugh Robertson, (the then MP for Culture, Media and Sport). The group stood by with counterparts from the Greek government, as the torch was lit in preparation for its journey to Land’s End.
The volunteers who auditioned for the Flag Handover Ceremony had just a week to rehearse Brazil’s big cultural advertisement. Organisers recruited professional performers from all over Europe: samba dancers and their star performers the ‘passistas’, drummers and percussionists, and samba de gafieira dancers who perform as couples. The costumes were kept secret from the performers until just before the ceremony, when the gold lamé flared bodysuits were revealed. Each one had been signed by the designer Jum Nakao.
The consortium responsible for all Rio’s Olympics ceremonies is a joint venture, between Italian events and entertainment company Film Master Group, and major Brazilian events producer SRCOM. The producers also had to undergo a rigorous selection process, to gain their position as overseers of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, as well as the Flag Handover Ceremonies, for the Rio 2016 Games. They have exclusive production rights to all the major events.
Since the flag was handed to Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes by IOC President Jacques Rogge at the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, the flag has been flown across the Atlantic and has visited the Complexo do Alemão favela, and the Christ the Redeemer statue. An interfaith ceremony occurred in close succession to a political reception. At the Palácio do Planalto, it was presented to the President of Brazil, Dilma Rouseff, accompanied by two of Brazil’s Olympic medallists, boxing brothers Esquiva and Yamaguchi Falcão, who won silver and bronze medals in London respectively. The flag is now on display to the public at the Palácio da Cidade.
In Brazil the campaign has started for a slightly cuter, more environmentally friendly symbol to advertise the Olympics. London 2012’s one-eyed, light-up mascots, Wenlock and Mandeville were reportedly symbolic of a giant camera lens. The contenders for Rio are alternately the pink dolphin and the spider monkey. Brazilian super model and UNEP ambassador Gisele Bundchen interviewed activist Vera M. F. da Silva on her blog. Da Silva, the president of the Ethics Committee for Animal Use in Research INPA – CEUA, said:
“The pink dolphin is part of the culture and folklore of the Amazon, and we can’t let the commercial fisheries drive this charismatic, one-of-a-kind species towards extinction. We can’t let the pink dolphin turn into a legend.”
The previous favourite to become the animated face of the games was the muriqui (spider) monkey. The group Muriqui Rio 2016 has already started its campaign for a line of merchandise based on this critter. Soap stars Carolina Dieckmann and Leticia Sabatella are the celebrities backing the environmental group Eco-Atântica’s promotion, launched last year.
The brochure for the Rio 2016 Pre-Games Training Camps was distributed at a meeting in August at Somerset House, to the officers of the Olympic and Paralympic Committees of European and African countries. The Olympic Committees of Asia, Oceania and Americas received the material at an earlier meeting. Before major competitions, athletes arrive to train in advance to assimilate themselves to the conditions. Besides the difference in temperature, those visiting almost any rural area in Brazil are advised to get vaccinated against yellow fever ten days prior to travel. The National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) advises yellow fever vaccinations for those visiting 21 regions, around half the area of the country. São Paulo and Goãnia are two of the training camp locations where vaccinations are strongly recommended. Fortunately facilities have been selected for their proximity to good health infrastructure, and athletes will be well taken care of.
Footballers will not be competing in Rio, but in various other cities across the country – São Paulo, Brasília, Belo Horizonte and Salvador. Many of the facilities are already in place, such as the Maria Lenk Aquatic Centre, the Olympic Velodrome where the indoor cycling events take place, and the Olympic Arena Construction which stages the athletics. Around these pre-existing venues, construction has begun on the Olympic Park which will be the jostling heart of the 2016 Games. It will be the centre for basketball, judo, taekwondo, wrestling, handball, hockey, tennis, cycling, aquatics and gymnastics. The Main Press Centre (MPC) and the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) will also be built on the site.
Director of Transport and City Operation Regina Oliveira was enthusiastic about the opportunity to develop Rio’s infrastructure. She said in an interview: “In Transport, especially regarding our fleet, we have the opportunity of making the Games as “green” as possible, considering the Brazilian matrix of clean energy, using biodiesel and alcohol.” The bid commitment includes ensuring the buses are adapted to disabled people and clean fuel usage. New transport infrastructure is likely to be enduringly popular: 70 percent of people in Rio use public transportation. As of 2010, according to the census, the city of Rio de Janeiro had more than 6.3 million inhabitants. Although the transport plan is currently “still in the conceptual phase,” the estimated workforce to manage and direct the crowds during the games is 15,000 people, volunteers and paid employees.
The government has engendered some controversy for its proposal to demolish 30 000 homes before 2016, to make way for new infrastructure. Human rights group Amnesty has accused it of using the event as an opportunity to remove the shantytowns which detract from the prosperous image the city is trying to portray. Yet it is also engaging in a construction project in the small town of Campo Grande. An hour and a half’s drive from the city centre, 800 houses have been built for people whose homes were condemned to make room for new roads.
