Rio 2016 Organization Says R$ 200 Million Is Necessary to Avoid Deficit
On Thursday, August 18, the Rio 2016 Olympic Committee admitted that it will need public funds to prevent the event from having losses. In a press conference, the agency's communication director, Mario Andrada, said that the funds will be used in the Paralympic Games.
There was an injunction in force that ruled against the Olympic Games' organizers receiving any type of government funds before the total revenues and expenses are made transparent. The decision was revoked on Wednesday, August 17.
"The accounts of the Rio 2016 Olympics are public. In the end, the Rio Olympic Games will have cost half of the London Olympics. We are showing that it is possible to do it," said Andrada.
Andrada also said that if the event ended today, the amount necessary to avoid a deficit would be approximately R$ 200 million (US$ 62.5 million).
Before the beginning of the event, the interim administration of Michel Temer announced that it would help with a collaboration of R$ 270 million (US$ 84.3 million) to the Olympic Games. The way that the money would be transferred, however, was not announced.
The Olympic Committee repeated several times that it took pride in the fact that it did not need government funds.
Despite that, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) demanded the Brazilian government to give guarantees that it would cover possible deficits of the Organizing Committee.
The Olympic Act law authorized the federal government to cover the deficit – which was revoked last year. Rio de Janeiro's local and state governments also gave the same guarantee.
On Thursday, Andrada said that "it would have been better to produce the Paralympic Games without public funds, but we are not transferring funds from other areas."
Translated by THOMAS MUELLO