IOC chief sees Rio on the way to preparing for 2016 Olympics
IOC: RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan 01 (AFP): Jacques Rogge, the head of
the International Olympic Committee, said Wednesday he saw Rio de
Janeiro as well on its way to preparing to host the 2016 Olympic Games.
"I'm very happy today because I see the preparations for the Games
well underway," he said as he laid a symbolic first stone at what will
become the Olympic Village in the city.
The ceremony gave an official profile to works that are already
underway to have the facility ready for the world's premiere sporting
event.
Various VIPs attended, including sporting figures, Brazil's former
FIFA president and former IOC member Joao Havelange, and Rio state
governor Sergio Cabral. Brazi is to be the first South American country
to present the Olympics. Its hosting duties will follow those of 2014,
when it holds the football World Cup.
Rogge said the launch of work on the Olympic Village was
"fundamental" because it formed "the heart of the Games," a place where
participants could mingle while respecting differences of race, religion
and languages.
Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, said: "Bringing the Games to Rio seemed an
impossible dream. But today the city is living a special moment, and
this is the first of many actions related to the Games. We will make
sure the Games are exemplary."
Organizers showed Rogge a scale model of the Olympic Village, a
facility comprising 48 buildings of 12 storeys that will boast a total
2,880 apartments.
It will also have a training area, a plaza, a shopping mall with
eateries, a park, and areas for tennis, volleyball and football - and a
beach for the exclusive use of the athletes. Brazilian officials,
meanwhile, are readying to unveil the Rio 2016 Olympic logo in a
night-time ceremony late Friday, just before New Year's Eve's
celebrations on Copacabana beach. |