Rio-2016 News

[zekekelso]

Pele announced that he had been asked to be the final torchlighter, but turned it down due to poor health.

[Sir Rols]

5 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

Pele announced that he had been asked to be the final torchlighter, but turned it down due to poor health.

Yeah, I remember that. But there was a lot of talk he was better now and would make the closing.

[gotosy]

 

Quote

 

Russian Olympic Team Delayed by Giant Nesting Doll

 

A flight carrying part of Russia’s Olympic team back to Moscow from Brazil was delayed for hours by a giant Russian nesting doll that was too large to be loaded onto the jet.

The plane was flying out of Rio de Janeiro on Monday following the conclusion of the Games. According to one journalist who witnessed the scene, ground crew had a hard time loading an outsized matryoshka doll from the country’s fan pavilion onto the aircraft.

Dmitrii Simonov, deputy editor-in-chief at the popular Russian sports newspaper, Sport-Express, posted photographs on his Twitter account of the bulbous doll stuck in a doorway at the airport.

“Great! The matryoshka from the Russian house is trapped in the doors at the airport. :-))) No one understands what to do )))," Simonov tweeted.

 

Dmitrii Simonov

Members of Russia’s Olympic team were delayed at the airport in Brazil because of a massive matryoshka doll.

 

Around four hours later, Simonov tweeted again, showing the plane still on the ground. He said a second flight carrying more Russian Olympians was also delayed because of the "hellish matryoshka."

“The golden flight of Russia’s Olympic Committee hasn’t been able to take-off from Rio for 3 hours because THEY CAN’T LOAD THE MATRYOSHKA!!! On the flight indignation is already raging," Simonov wrote.

The head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, Aleksander Zhukov, told the TASS state news agency that the plane had been delayed at least three hours, attributing it to “a mess in the airport” but not saying whether the doll was to blame.

Eventually the plane took off, apparently with the doll on board.

 

http://abcnews.go.com/International/russian-olympic-team-delayed-giant-nesting-doll/story?id=41590113

 

 

[Sir Rols]

LOL - I thought I caught a glimpse of a matrioshka sometime during Rio. Can't remember when, but there was some subliminal blink at one moment. Is it the one they had on the slopes at Sochi?

[zekekelso]

[TeamBlakeUSA]

Less Than 15 Days Left Until The Rio 2016 Paralympics.

[Ikarus360]

I wasn't sure where to post this but here you go

http://www.wnd.com/2016/08/mugabe-orders-arrest-of-entire-zimbabwean-olympic-team/

Absolutely disgusting. He also called them "rats", apparently, among other stuff. Reminds me of how Iraq under Saddam treated athletes which didn't met their expectations. 

[gotosy]

Rio Announces 2016 Olympic Hospitality House Winners

 

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio’s Chamber of Commerce (ACRJ) announced on Tuesday the winners of the Rio 2016 Olympic Hospitality Houses awards. Hungary won in the innovation category, Qatar in the culture category and Switzerland in the socializing category. Other winners included the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and the U.S.’s NBA house, which won the popular vote for best theme house.

The Hungary House won in the innovation category for the Rio 2016 Olympic Hospitality Houses awards, photo by Double file Design.

“The result surprised everyone,” said Ney Valle, partner at Dupla Design, and one of the creators of the Hungary House, set up in a 3,000 square meters area at Rio’s Jockey Club during the 2016 Games.

“The Hungary House showed the new moment of this amazing country, with its history, culture, and tradition in Olympic sport. It enchanted visitors with a tribute to the Danube River and its bridges, and also with the famous Rubik’s Cube transformed into a sculpture,” added Valle.

According to the executive the technology for the panoramic TV studio was brought over from the European country to show a little of what it can produce. Hungary’s capital, Budapest, is a candidate to host the Olympic Games of 2024.

The Swiss House, whose hospitality house was created on the banks of the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, was one of the most favorite houses among the younger crowd, serving Swiss chocolates and allowing kids to ice skate and practice their baseball skills.

The Qatar House transformed a former art museum, Casa Daros, into an Arab market where guests were able to sample shawarmas, try on traditional garments and get their hands painted with henna.

In the legacy category, the winner was not a nation house but the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB). “We are delighted to win this award,” commented FIVB President Ary Graça on the Federation’s website. “It is humbling to have this recognition for our commitment to leave a sustainable legacy in Rio.”

In all, 54 countries set up hospitality houses in various locations throughout the city of Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics, with some, including the Swiss House, remaining open also during the Paralympics competition.

http://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/rio-business/rios-chamber-of-commerce-announces-rio-2016-hospitality-house-winners/#

[TeamBlakeUSA]

Rio 2016 Paralympics Almost Coming To An End.

[gotosy]

Athletes forest starts to grow in Deodoro

22/09/2016

This Wednesday (21), the first seedlings of the Athletes Forest, which will be located at the Radical Park, started to arrive in Deodoro. As a way of representing the delegations of the Rio 2016 Games, 207 trees from four different species were planted. The seedlings make up a tree symbol on the ground, the same that was projected at the Olympic Games opening ceremony.

The first seedlings were planted to celebrate the national tree day, with students from five local schools taking part in the action, in addition to the artistic directors of the Rio 2016 Games ceremonies, artistic gymnasts and synchronised swimmers. From next year onwards, the 12 thousand seedlings planted by the athletes at the Games’ opening ceremony will be taken to the place. There are over 200 species, which are currently being bred in a garden.

“The trees are all so small, like me. I was afraid of knocking them over, I held the leaves so they wouldn’t fly off”, said gymnast Flávia Saraiva, who also took part in the action. “Doing hand stands is easier”, joked the athlete, referring to a very common move in her discipline. “I hadn’t been to the park yet, I really liked taking part in the planting action. I live around here, so I’m probably going to come back with my family”, said Felipe Fabrício da Silva (15), who is at the Mário Casasanta School and lives in Realengo.
Among the species planted, the following may be found: Brazilwood, cariniana, trumpet trees and grumichama.
“The Games’ ceremony was centred around this environmental preservation thinking. And as we’re talking about forest, why don’t the athletes plant one”, said the ceremony director Fernando Meirelles, while explaining where the idea for the athletes forest had come from.

Inside the Radical Park
The Athletes Forest is one of the attractions at the Radical Park in Deodoro. The Park was reopened for the population at the beginning of this month. Covering an area of 500,000m², the park is the city’s second biggest leisure area, behind only Flamengo Park.

The area is part of the Deodoro Sport Complex, which at the Olympic Games was the stage of 11 sports and another four during the Paralympics. In addition to the pool, the place has resting areas, showers, sunbeds and free parking. A Knowledge Centre will also be put up in the area.

 

http://www.cidadeolimpica.rio/en/noticia/athletes-forest-starts-to-grow-in-deodoro/

[gotosy]

Rio Olympics 2016 was not perfect, but organisers exceeded expectations, says IOC

 

Dec 7, 2016 09:50 IST

 

By Reuters

 

 

Lausanne: The Rio de Janeiro Olympics may not have been perfect but organisers exceeded expectations given the political and economic situation in the South American country, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday.

 

Rio, the first Olympic host city on the continent, had to grapple with a protracted political crisis, the worst recession in more than 80 years and a string of organisational problems due to a lack of cash.

The run-up to the Games was an obstacle course for local organisers and the IOC had to put up hundreds of millions of dollars of its eventual contribution before the start of the Olympics to help out.

Representational Image. Reuters

 

The Games' anti-doping programme was also affected by a lack of funding amid a widening Russian drugs scandal while venues were hit by problems including water quality in pools and a virtual absence of branding around the Olympic park due to issues with banner suppliers.

"From an operational point of view everything worked," the IOC's Olympic Games executive director Christophe Dubi told reporters. "Were they perfect? No.

"But with the results we can really take our hat off (to Rio organisers). It is amazing what they delivered considering their standpoint," he said.

Dubi said the IOC was satisfied with the Rio Games especially with athletes' performances that yielded 100 world and Olympic records and brought several countries their first medals and with global coverage which beat past records.

"We are right on target when you consider the money that was spent for these Games," Dubi said.

Rio was awarded the Games in 2009 amid Brazil's booming economy at the time and a different set of expectations by the IOC before the political crisis and the sharp financial downturn changed organisers' plans.

They then had to deal with a daily barrage of questions and criticism regarding organisation, with empty seats in venues and unsold tickets marring the start of the Olympics.

A lack of spectators was evident in even the most iconic venues during the 16-day event in August, including the Copacabana beach volleyball stadium on the famed Rio beach.

"Someone called them the most perfect imperfect Games," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said. "It's actually quite a good characterisation."

Reuters

http://www.firstpost.com/sports/rio-olympics-2016-was-not-perfect-but-organisers-exceeded-expectations-says-ioc-3143508.html

[baron-pierreIV]

On 8/24/2016 at 2:01 PM, gotosy said:

Story re giant matroyshka doll....

 

2

Just saw this now.  Jeez, between massive doping deeds and an over-szied matroyyshka doll that would not fit, what is the Russian world coming to?   Did any of the bureaucrats get sacked for that?? 

[TeamBlakeUSA]

I Don't Know That Thing Was From Sochi 2 Years Ago.

[Sir Rols]

6 hours ago, TeamBlakeUSA said:

I Don't Know That Thing Was From Sochi 2 Years Ago.

But you should know about the logo comps by now

 

GamesBids Olympic Logo Winners' Cup - Quarter Finals 1 & 2

GamesBids Olympic Logo Winners' Cup - Quarter Finals 3 & 4

10th Annual GamesBids Olympic Logo Design Comp

 

Edited December 8, 2016 by Sir Rols

[JMarkSnow2012]

Old World media keeps up the flow of Rio good news:

Quote

Rio Olympic venues already falling into a state of disrepair

• Six months on from Games, key venues lay empty in Rio de Janeiro
• Maracana Stadium looted and damaged, golf course closed down

....

The city’s $20 million golf course has been shut down after failing to attract enough paying players to maintain the course and facilities. The course superintendent, Neil Cleverly, says the company he works for, Progolf, hasn’t been paid for two months by the Brazilian Golf Confederation. And the course architect, Gil Hanse, is not impressed.

“We are bitterly disappointed ... we witnessed this type of brinkmanship during the construction of the course, and we are hopeful that this is another example of having to hit a low point before things get better,” Hanse told Golf World.

...

The Guardian, 10 Feb 2017

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/feb/10/rio-olympic-venues-already-falling-into-a-state-of-disrepair

 

[SkiFreak]

8 hours ago, JMarkSnow2012 said:

Old World media keeps up the flow of Rio good news:

The Guardian, 10 Feb 2017

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/feb/10/rio-olympic-venues-already-falling-into-a-state-of-disrepair

 

Yikes. And it's only been 6 months! 

[JMarkSnow2012]

2 hours ago, SkiFreak said:

Yikes. And it's only been 6 months! 

The odd thing is, chaos at Olympic sites six months after the games need not be a matter for concern- but that's only true if the chaos appears to be purposeful, as it did when the London Olympic Park was closed to the public after the 2012 Games. Lots went wrong behind the scenes in London, reopenings were delayed, promises were sidestepped, budgets were busted- but at all times, care was taken never to give the impression of being overwhelmed.

By the way, The Guardian also provided pics:

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2017/feb/10/rios-olympic-venues-six-months-on-in-pictures

[Tulsa]

Rio like Sotchi, Peyongchang 2018, and Beijing 2022 is a fail : Maracana is a new white elephant, only 6 months after the end of games... 

Like every time with this kind of bid. 

 

[Ikarus360]

Maracana was on hold because the local government is bankrupt and the team which are going to Maracana for what I understood have still not moved there, so between that time the stadium was victim of vandalism (because there is no way a stadium which was only used for ceremonies and football finals ended up like that). So there are many reasons behind this which don't really have much to do with the Olympics.

While this is still sad i'm sure they will eventually recover Maracana. I mean that stadium has been in constant use since ever. But Brazil is going through a hard time right now for wanting to eat more than they could chew. 

[JMarkSnow2012]

18 hours ago, Ikarus360 said:

Maracana was on hold because the local government is bankrupt and the team which are going to Maracana for what I understood have still not moved there, so between that time the stadium was victim of vandalism (because there is no way a stadium which was only used for ceremonies and football finals ended up like that). So there are many reasons behind this which don't really have much to do with the Olympics.

While this is still sad i'm sure they will eventually recover Maracana. I mean that stadium has been in constant use since ever. But Brazil is going through a hard time right now for wanting to eat more than they could chew. 

While that is of course true, being unable to pay for the prevention and remediation of vandalism and looting is a very very bad place to be, because that just invites more vandalism and looting.

[stryker]

If this article and these images are accurate, then Rio is turning into a repeat of the debacle of what happened to Athens. As bad as the Maracanã looks, the aquatics centre (remember how it was supposed to be temporary) is literally falling apart. If trends like this continue, the prospect of finding viable candidates for the SOGs is going to turn into what is happening now with the WOGs. The aquatics centre in particularly is a classic failure. Rio had a perfectly existing one in the Maria Lenk Pool that was only a secondary venue.

http://www.businessinsider.com/rio-olympic-venues-are-abandoned-just-6-months-after-games-2017-2

 

[Tulsa]

Rio is another failed think to IOC. Great Job. 

[baron-pierreIV]

On 2/12/2017 at 4:24 AM, Tulsa said:

Rio like Sotchi, Peyongchang 2018, and Beijing 2022 is a fail : Maracana is a new white elephant, only 6 months after the end of games... 

Like every time with this kind of bid. 

 

 

Aren't those empty spaces reserved for Handicapped seating??  LOL!!

[Ikarus360]

Painful to see but tbh I think most of us saw this coming given how both the preparation for the Olympics and the political situation in Brazil were both a huge mess. 

I don't blame them for picking Rio, I mean a lot of people back then were forcing the New Horizons meme into us and Brazil economic growth and the sucessful 2007 Pan Am Games were very promising. Too bad nothing of that ended up living to our expectations. 

I feel bad mostly for small, undeveloped countries, because they're not going to get a chance to host this event for a very long time after the messes which were both Athens and Rio, retospectively speaking.

[zekekelso]

7 hours ago, Ikarus360 said:

Painful to see but tbh I think most of us saw this coming given how both the preparation for the Olympics and the political situation in Brazil were both a huge mess. 

I don't blame them for picking Rio, I mean a lot of people back then were forcing the New Horizons meme into us and Brazil economic growth and the sucessful 2007 Pan Am Games were very promising. Too bad nothing of that ended up living to our expectations. 

I feel bad mostly for small, undeveloped countries, because they're not going to get a chance to host this event for a very long time after the messes which were both Athens and Rio, retospectively speaking.

The preparations for the Olympics were a huge mess? I don't remember that... what am I forgetting? 

Yeah, the political situation in Brazil was a mess. Just like it is in South Korea today.