With Olympics on the horizon, Rio focuses on finishing up construction

World Today

With only 100 days left before the summer Olympic Games begin in Rio, the Brazilian government focused on the construction that still remains for venues and locations.

CCTV America’s Lucrecia Franco takes a look at the city that will host the first Olympics in South America.

Brazil’s most iconic city has completed around 98 percent of the venues for the 2016 Summer Olympics but workers were still racing to finish a subway expansion and rapid bus lanes to handle the surge in people.

“The last stretch is always the most difficult one. There are many challenges, but I think we have shown – the organizing committee has shown in the last year – that great progress has been made,” IOC President Thomas Bach said.

Along with construction, Brazilian politics could prove a distraction from the lighting of the torch. President Dilma Rousseff was embroiled in an impeachment process that could take her out office when the games begin in August.

Despite Brazil’s turmoil, polls show that 70 percent of Rio’s residents support the Olympics.


Robert Boland on the Rio games
For more on the countdown to the Summer Games and Brazil’s preparedness, CCTV America’s Elaine Reyes spoke with Robert Boland, executive-in-residence of the sports administration department of Ohio University.


Christopher Gaffney on Brazil’s Olympics preparations
To further discuss Rio’s Olympic Summer Games and the country’s sports preparedness, CCTV America’s Mike Walter spoke with Christopher Gaffney, senior research fellow at University of Zurich.