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LAUSANNE (Switzerland). — Seeking to allay political, economic and health concerns as the games approach, Brazilian organisers assured IOC leaders yesterday that final preparations for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro would not be derailed by the Zika outbreak, a presidential impeachment or construction delays.
With South America’s first Olympics just over two months away, Rio organizers made their final presentation to the IOC executive board ahead of the August 5 opening ceremony.
“We are confident the games will take place and will be very successful,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams told reporters.
Also yesterday, the IOC cleared all four cities bidding for the 2024 Games – Los Angeles, Paris, Rome and Budapest, Hungary – to advance to the next stage of the race.
Under new bidding rules, the IOC has no plans to trim the field and expects all four to go to the final vote in September 2017.
The IOC also authorised Kuwaiti athletes who qualify for the Rio Games to compete as individuals under the Olympic flag if, as expected, their national Olympic committee remains suspended for government interference. The suspension has been in place since last October, and Adams said no progress has been made since then. – AP.
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