With less than one month to go before the beginning of the Olympic Games, Rio de Janeiro's City Hall has started "gift wrapping" the city.

The expression "gift wrapping" refers to a beautification process, through the installation of flags, acoustic panels and stickers that will cost the taxpayers R$ 750,000, according to the City Tourism Secretary.

One of the places decorated during the weekend was the Linha Vermelha (Red Expressline), the access expressway to the Galeão International Airport, where tourists and athletes competing in the Games, which start on the 5th of August, will disembark.

"The 'stickering' of the acoustic panels along the Linha Vermelha creates fluidity. It isn't about hiding the favela (slum) and never was. It is for decoration and to put the city in the Olympic mood", Antonio Pedro, the Tourism Secretary told Folha.

According to Pedro, the installation of the stickers on the panels located in front of the Maré Complex will cost the city R$ 200,000.

Erection of the panels first began in 2010. They are 3 meters tall each and cover a continuous stretch of nearly 7 km. Many of the panels had already been painted previously.

City hall is responsible for the overall appearance of the city, while the Rio-2016 Organizing Committee is in charge of the Game venues themselves, in other words, inside the arenas and competition areas. Both are following the same graphic and esthetic guidelines.

Other points in the city that have already been given or are still to be given the Olympic makeover include Brasil Avenue, the Engenheiro Coelho Cintra Tunnel (commonly referred to as 'New Tunnel'), the rim of the southern zone, Flamengo Landfill, etc.

Translated by LLOYD HARDER

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	Ricardo Borges/Folhapress
	The expression "gift wrapping" refers to a beautification process, through the installation of flags, acoustic panels and stickers