The president of the Rio 2016™ Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, participated last Monday, 16 April, of the session “Sport and Olympic Movement Including, Attracting and Maximising Major Events as Catalysts for Development”, at the II World Olympic Sport Convention in Moscow, Russia.

The panel was moderated by Sebastian Coe, president of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, where Nuzman spoke about the Rio 2016™ project and the relevant sporting and social legacies of the Games. Nuzman presented the successful Peacemaker Police Units (UPP) project and the social and sport programmes established by the three levels of government, the Brazilian Olympic Committee and Rio 2016™. The Olympic Training Centre and X-Park were also mentioned as a sporting legacy that the 2016 will bequeath to Rio de Janeiro, as both were projected to play key roles in the training of athletes. The president of the Olympic Committee of South Africa, where the 2010 Football World Cup was held (Gideon Sam), also participated in the panel.

“The Rio 2016™ Organising Committee for the Olympic and the Paralympic Games and the federal, state and municipal levels of government of Brazil share a commitment to use the Rio 2016 Games as a catalyst of transformation and development” said Nuzman. “The national promise of development is ahead of us and we are willing to proudly build it through sport with the union of all Brazilians, and deliver the greatest sporting event in the world”, he added.

The following dignataries also participated in the convention: the president of the IOC, Jacques Rogge; the president of ANOC, Ahmad Al-Fahad Al Sabah; and 150 other government authorities, who discussed cooperation between governments and NOCs.

The president of Rio 2016™ also attended the XVIII ANOC General Assembly, which was held on Friday, 13 April, and Sunday, 15. On Sunday, the last day of the assembly, attended by the IOC Executive Directors and the presidents of the 205 NOCs of the whole world, Nuzman presented the progress report of the preparation of the Rio 2016™ Games. One of the issues he addressed was the city’s new transportation system, with the implementation of the BRT system and the building of metro line 4; the General Accommodation Plan; and the revitalisation of the Port Zone. Nuzman also made a brief retrospective review of the main actions taken by Rio 2016™ over the last two years, such as the launch of the Olympic and Paralympic emblems, the announcement of the first Games sponsors and the Programme for Pre-Games Training Venues Registering and Selection.