Reduced budget on Rio Olympics impact venues, public services

Global Business

Reduced budget on Rio Olympics impact venues, public services

Budget cuts caused by the financial crises have affected the Rio 2016 Olympics. Though organizers said cheaper games actually set a good example for the future, analysts feared the impact the lack of resources may have in the public services during the Olympics.

CCTV America’s Paulo Cabral reports.

Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio, proudly said the Olympics budget dropped 35% from $6.4 billion to $4.1 billion. “It’s the only case in the recent history of the Olympic Games in which the costs were reduced,” Paes added.

“Rio is bringing to the Olympic movement a different stage for a lot of cities in the world. We are changing, different from Beijing and London, and this give a chance for different regions of the World, different cities,” Carlos Nuzman, president of Brazilian Olympic Committee, said.

Just weeks ahead, governor of Rio de Janeiro declared a state of emergency to be able to claim federal funds to fulfill Rio’s obligations during the Olympics.

The emergency was defused, but analysts fear difficulties ahead.

“Authorities had to look for solutions that are not the same they would have adopted if they had all the necessary funding. So certainly there was an impact and it hits directly the quality of the public services that will be offered,” Alexandre Coelho, marketing and management professor of Mackenzie University said.

Maybe for the Olympic organizers, this is a chance to try to show it’s also a safe and trouble-free place to visit.