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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Rio ready for Olympics after last-minute chaos
Former Brazilian volleyball player Isabel Barroso holds the Olympic torch next to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janerio, Brazil, on Thursday. Photo: Reuters
/ Reuters, RIO DE JANEIRO
With a little bit of chaos and a last-minute sprint on preparations, Rio de Janeiro was ready yesterday to revel in a moment seven years in the making: the opening of the Olympic Games.
At an evening ceremony in the famed Maracana Stadium, Brazil was to declare open the 31st Summer Olympic Games and the first ever in South America. They run until Aug. 21.
Organizers are hoping the start of the Games will erase months of bad publicity for Rio — from polluted water, to faulty plumbing at the athletes village to worries about the Zika virus — all against the backdrop of an economic downturn.
Security challenges in the sprawling beachside city are at the forefront of many people’s mind, not only because of Rio’s decades-old reputation for violent street crime, but also after a spate of deadly attacks at big and small celebrations from Europe to the US.
With many of the Games’ 11,000 athletes and dozens of heads of state in attendance, the first major test of preparedness comes at Maracana, where the biggest security operation of the Games is to be deployed.
About 50,000 spectators were expected, while more than 3 billion people would likely tune in around the world as Brazil hosts its second major sporting event in two years, after the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
“I think it’s going to be great,” said Braulio Ferreira, 38, who runs a small shop in the Jardim Botanico neighborhood, near the lagoon where rowing and canoeing races will be held. “Like the World Cup, it’ll be great to throw a good party and mix with the people from all over.”
However, like many in Rio, Ferreira said citizens had not received benefits like better transport and sanitation promised in the Olympic bid: “It cost a lot of money, but I don’t see much of the legacy that was promised.”
Brazil’s political crisis could crash the party as interim Brazilian President Michel Temer opens the Games. In a bitterly divided country, protesters are encouraging spectators to boo Temer, who took over after the Brazilian Senate voted to subject Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to an impeachment hearing this month.
Brazil won its bid for the Games in 2009, when the economy was booming and Rio’s coffers swelled with royalties from its offshore oil.
The economy is now on track for its worst recession in a century and Rousseff is expected to be permanently ousted this month.
In what organizers have called a low-tech ceremony constrained by the dire economy, Brazil was to showcase its natural treasures and the cultural riches created by one of the world’s most diverse nations.
Samba, Carnival and the famously fun Brazilian spirit were expected to play heavily into the three-hour ceremony, as was a call to save the planet from climate change.
One of the most anticipated moments is seeing which famous Brazilian will light the Olympic cauldron. The odds-on favorite is Pele.
Spokesmen for Pele said he had received the green light from his sponsors and doctor, but the 75-year-old was waiting to see if he felt well enough.
Before the ceremony, the Olympic torch traveled to some of the most well-known landmarks of the “marvelous city” — from the Christ the Redeemer statue atop lush green mountains to the striking Pao de Acucar or Sugar Loaf rock formation on Guanabara Bay.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
