This Wednesday (20 February), the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Coordination Commission for the Rio 2016™ Games completed its fourth visit to the city. The Commission’s members noted solid progress since their last visit in June 2012, including at the media villages, in the venue master plan and in the Organising Committee’s recruitment of personnel. However, time remains a crucial factor. Over the next three and a half years, the two Olympic parks – in Deodoro and Barra – and many support structures will need to be delivered.

“We observed solid progress this week”, said the Commission’s president and member of the IOC Executive Committee, Nawal El Moutawakel. “The construction work is under way and the Organising Committee continues to increase its capacity. However, many projects will have to be finalised simultaneously, a task of great magnitude and complexity facing the organisers. We remain confident, but we need to stay vigilant and continue the hard work in order for the schedules to be respected”.

The Commission spent three days examining preparations for the Rio project and receiving updates from the organisers and their planning partners. Competition venues and projects related to the Games, including the Maracanã Stadium, Rio 2016™’s new headquarters, Deodoro and Rio’s port region, were visited by members of the Commission. They were especially pleased to find that the Organising Committee has adopted a series of lessons learned from the London Games (both during the event and at the debriefing in Rio in November) and adapted them to its own circumstances.

Strong and continuous government support was highlighted by the Commission following the start of regular meetings between the local Organising Committee and all levels of government, led by the president of Brazil, Dilma Roussef. Rio de Janeiro State Governor Sergio Cabral, Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo and Rio de Janeiro City Mayor Eduardo Paes also attended the Commission’s meetings.

Evolution in the structure of the Rio 2016™ Organising Committee, with the arrival of new Director-General Sidney Levy and a large number of professionals with Olympic Games experience, has also helped the Rio project to progress in recent months. The Commission noted that this recruitment work needs to continue as the project moves towards the final deliverables, which will demand experience of previous Games.

Rio 2016™ employees participate in the fourth CoCom. (Photo: Alex Ferro/Rio 2016)

This year will be critical for Rio 2016™. A lot of work lies ahead at numerous sports venues in order to meet deadlines for pre-Games test events. These events are crucial to ensure that the Olympic Games take place smoothly, as they afford athletes their first contact with the competition venues before the Games and enable National Olympic Committees and International Federations to plan their operations.

The president of the Rio 2016™ Organising Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, commented: “We are making great progress and are on the right track to deliver great Games for Rio, Brazil and the world to enjoy. We have worked hard to enhance project integration. The engagement and support of the three levels of government is stronger than ever. We are grateful for the specialist consulting support and guidance received from the IOC Coordination Commission this week, and the Rio 2016™ teams will continue to work tirelessly to offer solutions to pending issues and respect the deadlines involved in the project”.

Rio 2016™’s accommodation plans were presented during one of the meetings. The Commission recognised that much work has been done, but highlighted that a lot of hotel construction still needs to be confirmed in the coming months, and that the final accommodation plan is essential to many Games operations.

“We know that Brazil is doing fantastic work in terms of legacy for the city. We have received all the guarantees from the three levels of government (federal, state and municipal). We have a clear vision of all of the Organising Committee’s strategies. Even though the number of hotel rooms demanded by the IOC has not yet been achieved, we are extremely confident about the work that is being done”, said the Commission’s executive director, Swiss Gilbert Felli.

Rio 2016™ also presented its plans to engage the whole country’s people in different areas such as education, culture, digital media, branding and spectators’ experience. The Commission was pleased to observe that all of Rio 2016™’s stakeholders are involved in the process.

In addition, the Commission received updates about the preparations made by Rio 2016™ areas such as Athletes, Venues, Sports, International Federation Services, NOC Services, Transport, Media Services, Workforce, Technology, Marketing and the Paralympic Games.

Since London 2012 came to an end last year, the Commission will now start to visit Rio twice a year, in line with the standard schedule for the Commission’s visits to Games host cities.