Rio de Janeiro’s plans to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games were presented this morning at the General Assembly of the Oceania National Olympic Committees in New Zealand where. Rio 2016 Secretary General, Carlos Roberto Osório, International Relations Director, Mario Cilenti and Rio 2016 Ambassador Isabel Swan presented Rio’s vision to 18 leaders of the region’s Olympic committees in Queenstown.

Osório described Rio’s readiness to host the Games and the city’s vast experience in organizing major events such as the annual Carnaval celebrations, the world famous New Year’s festivities on Copacabana Beach and the numerous international sports championships recently held in the city. He also emphasized Brazil’s strong economy despite the current economic climate and the unmatched government guarantees provided by the government for the bid.

“We have unprecedented financial guarantees and a great deal of commitment from all three levels of government to bring the Games to Brazil. The Rio 2016 Organizing Committee will be ready to begin work the first day after the election of the Host City for the 2016 Games thanks to guaranteed funding of US$700 million from the government. We will not require loans, donations or advance sponsor payments to host the Games in Rio. This investment guarantees the solidity of our financial model,” said Osório.

Mário Cilenti noted the benefits Rio’s Olympic bid will derive from the city’s preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and stressed that Rio 2016 has been very concerned with listening to national Olympic committees during the planning work for the Games. He listed the main points arising from this consultation with athletes and officials. “Our proposed plan for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will seek to improve Sports Presentation in partnership with the International Federations and guarantee full stadiums for athletes and broadcasters by designing a programme to fill empty seats with passionate young fans. We also plan to fund a programme of 15 live sites to complement our domestic programme and celebrate the Games as never before across the world,” he said.

Rio 2016 Ambassador, Isabel Swan moved delegates with an emotional description of the athletes’ perspectives of the city’s bid and their unwavering support for the Bid Committee’s efforts. “Rio 2016 closely listened to our needs to develop the Games Plan and competition venues, all of which will be within the city limits of Rio de Janeiro. Half of athletes will be less than 10 minutes from competition venues,” she explained.