The Olympic Games in Brazil, country that welcomes world with open arms
By Michel Temer
Interim President of the Republic
Today, one month before the world`s greatest sporting event is
scheduled to begin, Brazil can say with confidence: we are ready to
host the first Olympic and Paralympic Games to take place in South
America.
The Olympic Village, housing more than 17,000 participating
athletes in one of Rio de Janeiro`s most beautiful settings, has
just been inaugurated. All sports facilities, especially those
serving the Olympic Park in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, are
also up and ready.
The country has put together a solid security program of 85,000
federal, state, and municipal government personnel to ensure that
sporting events take place in
an atmosphere of absolute peace and tranquility. This contingent of
security personnel will work in an integrated fashion, overseeing
the protection of athletes, coaching staffs, heads of state,
government officials, local residents, and journalists.
This will not be Brazil`s first opportunity to show the world its
capacity for organization, and to welcome visitors warmly to a
secure environment. Over the past few years, our country has
developed an expertise in hosting mega-events on an international
scale. We hosted the World Cup, the Pan-American Games, the World
Military Games, World Youth Day, and the Confederations Cup all
unanimous successes, which we conducted in a spirit of excellence,
dedication and with the characteristic Brazilian joie de vivre. And
now, another success is on its way.
The Games will show the world one of the major global economies at
work in a mature democracy: a country with great business potential
that at the same time has set the standard for policies to fight
inequality.
Rio de Janeiro is expected to receive hundreds of thousands of
visitors from Brazil and abroad during the Games, while the five
"Soccer Cities" São Paulo, Salvador, Manaus, Brasília and Belo
Horizonte will also find themselves inundated with local and
foreign fans. Hosting events on this scale represents both a
momentous accomplishment for the Brazilian people and a source of
immense national pride.
It should be emphasized that 60 percent, 7.07 billion reais, of the
total investment in the Olympic facilities were financed by the
private sector. These resources and efforts will remain as legacies
to the entire country. For instance, the Games will disseminate
throughout Brazil the hallmark values of competitive sports:
cooperation, solidarity, discipline, and resiliency. As a more
concrete benefit, Brazilians throughout the country`s five
geographic regions will also inherit a national sports training
network of world-class facilities for both sports beginners and
high-performance athletes.
Finally, in Rio de Janeiro, the Games have greatly influenced
the implementation of public policy, causing the city to fast
track, expand and even initiate many municipal infrastructure and
mobility projects. The direct, favorable impact of these policies
on the quality of life of the city`s residents is evident.
Over the past few weeks, rumor of the possibility of an outbreak of
topical-disease during the Games has circulated. We can assure you
as has the World Health Organization that the risk of Zika
infection during the Games is practically non-existent.
Historically, an extremely low incidence of disease transmitted by
the Aedes Aegypti has been recorded during the winter season in the
Southern Hemisphere. Indeed, there has been a dramatic decline in
cases of Zika infection in Rio de Janeiro and throughout Brazil in
the past few weeks. I recall a similar prediction of epidemic
during the 2014 World Cup tournament in Brazil, when we hosted 1.4
million foreign visitors. No epidemic occorred. Then as now,
tourists can be assured of favorable health conditions during the
Olympic Games.
Brazil is ready to receive all of the visitors who will be enjoying
the pleasure of watching the world`s elite international sports
athletes compete, and, surely, we will have a great deal to show
the five billion viewers from around the world who will be watching
the Games as well.
Brazil awaits you with open arms.
The article is provided by the Brazilian Embassy in Baku exclusively to Azernews.
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