IT’S THE BIGGEST sporting event on the planet and tomorrow night all the talking stops and the walking, running and jumping takes centre stage.
Rio de Janeiro, a city known around the world for its ability to throw a party, is about to put on the ultimate sporting celebration.
For a city whose carnival can literally bring millions onto the streets in a celebration of people, colour and music, much will be expected of Friday’s opening ceremony.
But what else can we expect from the games? Particularly for the Irish fans who are travelling over in the hope of witnessing some sporting history.
Every Olympic Games throws up a raft of concerns for both locals and visitors alike and this year has been no different, perhaps even worse than usual.
So let’s take a look at the potential pitfalls that have been making the headlines and see if there’s anything to worry about.
Of all the pre-games discussions about the safety of athletes and spectators, Zika has been both the most prominent and also the most controversial.
The virus itself is not particularly harmful to those who contract it, leading only to flu-like symptoms. But the mosquito-borne virus has been linked to serious birth defects among the newborn children of sufferers.
The prevalence of Zika was until relatively recently confined to parts of Africa and Asia, but in the past year it has reached epidemic levels in South America, leading to panic over how it will affect the games.
It’s controversial though, because many feel its actual risk to Olympic athletes and fans has been greatly exaggerated.
Brazil has engaged in a sustained campaign to prevent its further spread, a campaign that has been pretty successful.
Although researchers are still learning about the virus, the World Health Organisation decided that that Zika does not present the kind of public health risk to justify postponing or cancelling the games.
In fact, those travelling to Brazil for the Olympics only face a tiny risk of getting infected.
Under a worst-case scenario, just three to 37 of the up to 500,000 people expected to go to Rio for the games could be expected to come down with Zika, according to a report by the Yale University School of Public Health.
“The possibility that travellers returning from the Olympics may spread Zika has become a polemic issue that has led to athletes dropping out of the event, and without evidence, undue stigmatisation of Brazil,” said the Yale study.
Furthermore, the games are taking place in winter in Rio when mosquito activity has subsided.
Despite it not being in season, mosquitoes will still be present in Rio and the Department of Foreign Affairs is urging Irish people to “protect themselves from mosquito bites”.
Compared to the Euro 2016 tournament which was played under a state of national emergency in France, the terror threat level at the Rio Olympic Games is no higher than it would be were it held in any other nation.
That’s not to say that there’s no danger. Potential threats from the so-called Islamic State group have been taken seriously by Brazilian police who are dealing with international forces in order to prevent an attack.
But, in general, the security concerns have focused on fans and athletes being the victims of crime. Crime rates are high in the unequal Brazilian society.
Government stats have shown a recent dip in murders, which have been on the rise all year, totalling 2,083 in the first five months across Rio state.
But street muggings have exploded this year, with 9,968 cases in May, up almost a third on May last year — the equivalent of 14 robberies an hour.
Tourists can often be the primary targets for the kind of petty street crime that’s commonplace.
Pick-pocketing and bag snatching are problems in the city with smartphones also a particular target for criminals.
Advice for tourists is focused on urging caution and being aware of the kind of behaviour that may attract unwanted attention, keeping a smartphone in full view for example.
Tips that are common to many cities are also suggested, such as not walking alone at night or leaving belongings unattended.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has similar advice:
Park in well-lit areas, approach your car with the keys ready and drive with the doors locked and the windows up. If you are a victim of crime, you should cooperate and not resist. Be ready to hand over valuables if you’re threatened. Don’t attempt to resist attackers, they may be armed or under the influence of drugs.
While assaults have also been reported by tourists, the policing operation planned for the Rio games is heavily focused on the areas where they are likely to visit. Beaches, for example.
Brazilian officials say that the Olympics will be safe thanks to a huge reinforcement by soldiers, elite national police units and others, totalling 85,000 officers.
That’s twice as many security personnel as used in the 2012 London Olympics.
Just two years ago, Brazil hosted the Fifa World Cup. Even in football obsessed Brazil, there were massive protests about the huge money the government was spending on the tournament.
Two years later and after even more social and political unrest, an even more expensive international showcase is getting underway.
But protests have yet to materialised on a large scale.
There is little doubt that there are widespread objections to the Rio games among many of the city’s inhabitants. Among many others there is a just a general ambivalence.
But in a country that not too long ago saw three million people on the streets protesting against their president, protests have so far been smaller in scale.
If still noisy:
Those protests against President Dilma Rousseff are still ongoing (she faces an impeachment vote later this month) but they too have been smaller in scale of late.
Last week, about 4,000 protesters gathered on the beach at Rio’s Copacabana in a festive atmosphere with sound trucks blasting out a mix of samba and the national anthem.
Of greater concern perhaps is how Rio’s infrastructure will cope with the demands of the 500,000 fans and 11,000 athletes arriving this month.
The city’s geography makes it a notorious traffic black spot. It’s a coastal city, surrounded by mountains and with a lagoon in the centre. All three features make road space a premium.
Just seven years ago an estimated 17% of the city used public transport. Authorities have said that improvements will increase this to 63% by next year, but just how much better it is now remains to be seen.
Currently, buses are used by 37% of people, compared to just 4% on the metro.
The metro itself has been extended but it still doesn’t cover much of an area, a fact demonstrated by its infrequent use by locals. Basically, delays at the very least should be expected
In saying all this though, there’s never been an Olympics that hasn’t begun with a massive cloud of the uncertainty hanging over it.
While Rio is no different, once the sport starts everything else usually falls into place.
Full guidelines for Irish people travelling to the Olympic Games are available on the Department of Foreign Affairs website here.
- With reporting by © – AFP 2016
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