Six themes were discussed with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Evaluation Commission on Thursday, day two of its inspection of Rio de Janeiro’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. They were the Paralympic Games, Political Climate, Legal Aspects, Customs and Immigration Formalities, Finance and Marketing.
Carlos Arthur Nuzman, President of Rio 2016, stressed the quality of the plans that were presented to the IOC. He said, “we have reached this decisive week prepared with high quality presentations. We will show that Rio de Janeiro and Brazil are politically structured to receiving the Olympic Games innovative marketing proposals. Our budget is realistic and complete. We were also very careful in planning the Paralympic Games”.
Rio 2016 prepared two budgets in following IOC guidelines. One is for the Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, and another for expenses not related to the committee.
According to the Associated Press, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made an impassionate pitch Thursday to host the 2016 Games saying Brazil deserves to host the Games and not be treated like a “second-class citizen”.
He said, “we want to prove that the time of this country being treated like a second-class citizen has ended. We want to be treated like first-class citizens”.
He said that the fact that Brazil, arguably more than any other nation, has shaken off the blows of the global financial crisis, is proof of his nation’s readiness to host the Olympics, reports the Associated Press.
“Here in Latin America, all our lives we’ve had to prove that we know how to do things. The global crisis has unveiled the mask of many and shown the truth. Brazil was always seen as a fragile country, but his crisis has shown that we were the country better prepared to confront the crisis. Brazil deserves more than any other nation to host these Games”.
