Rio declares holiday for Olympics announcement

Rio de Janeiro has declared a public holiday Friday to allow its people to watch the International Olympic Committee announce whether the self-proclaimed “Marvellous City” will host the 2016 Games.

Up to 100,000 people are expected on Copacabana beach, where a giant screen will broadcast the ceremony live from Copenhagen, to see if Rio can hold off competition from Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo.

The bookies make Chicago odds-on favourite but specialist sites such as GamesBids.com believe the momentum is with Rio. Brazilian officials are confident their time has finally come.

“I think Brazil is going to win because we have the best proposal,” said President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his weekly radio programme this week.

The president has been an enthusiastic cheerleader for the bid and will be in Copenhagen to woo wavering delegates. His energetic support and Rio’s improving odds are believed to have contributed to President Barack Obama changing his mind and deciding to attend the Copenhagen ceremony. Both leaders are mindful of how Tony Blair’s schmoozing was credited for helping London overcome Paris last time around.

Mr Lula da Silva’s confidence is based on three main factors. First are Rio’s undeniable attractions. It is a gorgeous city situated between mountains and sea, with an amenable climate and welcoming population.

Second, Brazil is the only one of the four competing nations – and the biggest economy in the world – never to have hosted an Olympics. Mr Lula da Silva has appealed to delegates to finally give South America a chance.

Third is Brazil’s growing stature on the world stage. The country has grown quickly in recent years and emerged relatively unscathed from the global economic meltdown. It also has experience, having held the Pan American Games in 2007, and will host the World Cup in 2014.

The downsides are security – Rio is by far the most violent of the competing cities – and a lack of hotel beds.

But even more worrying is Rio’s experience in hosting the Pan Ams. In order to secure that event, the city promised to build a new ring road, a “via light” transport system, a new state highway and 54 km of new metro line.

Those projects never happened and officials now admit the city promised too much and provided too little. Worse, the initial budget of R$532m ended up exceeding R$3bn, a phenomenal increase given the lack of infrastructure works.

“I think we have no reason to trust the promises that are being made and no reason to believe that any legacy will be left,” says Juca Kfouri, a crusading newspaper columnist and long-time critic of Brazil’s sports administrators. “It would be a haemorrhage of public money, just as with the Pan American Games.”

Another issue is Brazil’s notorious record of poor planning. Almost two years after being confirmed as World Cup hosts, work has yet to start on the 12 stadiums. In addition, the much talked about bullet train linking Rio and São Paulo has yet to leave the drawing board.

Those questions do not seem to bother the IOC, which called Rio’s last presentation “detailed and of a very high quality.” They also do not bother Brazil’s politicians, who have told organisers they can expect federal help to pay for the jamboree.

And they certainly do not bother Mr Lula da Silva. For this, he believes, is Brazil’s turn.

“It is not fair that Europe and the United States get the majority of the Olympics and Latin America, South America and Africa don’t,” he said. “Our chances are infinitely better than ever before.”