The International Olympic Committee has praised the “solid progress” being made in preparations for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as its Coordination Commission (CoCom) finished its latest visit to the city. After three days of meetings with Games organisers and visits to venue sites, the IOC highlighted advances in venue construction, engagement initiatives – such as ticketing, volunteering and the torch relay – and stressed the importance of the 21 test events that would be staged in Rio this year.

An IOC statement at the end of the visit on Wednesday (25 February) reported “solid progress” while CoCom Chair Nawal El Moutawakel said: “We were pleased to be able to show (IOC) President Thomas Bach that good progress has been made on the Rio 2016 Games. The advancements made on both the Barra and Deodoro Olympic Parks were very encouraging, with both areas on track to leave fantastic legacies to the people of Rio and the athletes of Brazil.

“The Rio team is now entering the most intense phase in the preparation for the Games, as they reach a new level of detail while planning numerous test events. We were pleased to see that Rio and its government partners have put in place structures that will allow them to deal with what will be an intense year ahead.”

El Moutawakel, who had taken part in engagement activities with the local community during the visit, stressed the importance of delivering venues in time for the test events, which will involve some of the world’s top athletes.

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman said: “As we move at high speed from the planning to the execution phase of the project, we are dedicated to delivering on our vision for the Games. In a project of this magnitude, some obstacles will always exist, but with the help of our partners at the IOC and the three levels of government, we will overcome them.”

The Coordination Commission was joined for part of its eight visit to Rio by IOC President Thomas Bach, who led a delegation to meet Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who again pledged full support for the Games. Bach also participated in a meeting with Rio State Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão, Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes and Brazilian Minister of Sports George Hilton. The IOC President also took part in a discussion with university students at the Rio 2016 headquarters.

The commission was pleased to hear that support for the Games remains strong across Brazil and that a number of engagement initiatives had been launched since its last visit, such as sign-up for ticket sales, volunteer recruitment, the mascots and the Olympic torch relay.