Road to Rio: Ready or not?

Brazil. When I say that word, what do you think of?

Carnival? Naked ladies dancing on the street? Football? Beaches? Poverty? I’m sure that if I had asked you this question last year, these are the answers I would have received.

Now, the answers are more varied; corruption, Zika virus, and most importantly, the Olympic Games.

This summer, all eyes will be on Brazil. And that may not be a good thing.

As much as I love my country, I don’t think that Brazil is the right place to host the Olympics this year. I am proud of them for being the first Portuguese-speaking country to host the games, as well as the third Latin American country to do so, but at the same time, I’m furious.

I’m angry at how much money my country will have to spend, money that should be going to education and health (the UN ranks us at 79^th in both). I’m annoyed at how every other issue will be pushed aside in order to provide the perfect experience for thousands of sport fanatics. But most, of all, I’m confused as to how anyone thought this was going to be a good idea.

I’m confused as to how anyone thought this was going to be a good idea.

Brazil has spent an estimate of upwards of £17 billion – although the exact amount has not been revealed – building stadiums for the World Cup two years ago and for the Olympics this summer. Some stadiums, may I add, have not been used since. It has also been revealed that all seventeen previous Olympic Games have exceeded their budget, with an average of 179% cost overrun. This begs the question: where will that money go?

This time two years ago, millions were protesting the World Cup, with riots erupting due to construction delays. It looks like not much has changed, except that the Brazilian people have a lot more to riot about now.

First thing’s first, the political structure of Brazil is in shambles. At the time of writing this article, Dilma Rousseff, the president, is suspended as she is in the middle of an impeachment trial. The interim president, Michel Temer, has been facing a lot of criticism from all over the world.

This is no time to host millions of tourists, especially as the Brazilian people cannot see eye-to-eye regarding who is right in this political mess.

Even if tourists aren’t directly affected by this, they will be scared of potential health problems they may face. As most people may know, the Zika virus is very prominent right now. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has not postponed the Olympic Games, as many thought they would, but issued advice on how to avoid the disease, such as, “choose air-conditioned accommodation” and “avoid visiting impoverished and over-crowded areas in cities”.

That’s all well and good for tourists who will be visiting for a maximum of eight weeks, but what about those who live there? Those who cannot afford air-conditioning, and have no choice but to live in those “impoverished and over-crowded areas” that the WHO points out.

This is the worst health crisis since 1918. But, instead of spending money on combating it, researching for more vaccines and building more hospitals, it has been revealed that the government has spent 16 times as much on the Olympics than on improving health services to eradicate the virus.

Maybe everything will be forgotten the second the Olympic torch reaches the turf of the Maracana

Even if they did spend all that money on infrastructure that would benefit the Brazilians after the influx of tourists, it still wouldn’t be enough. In fact, just last month, a bike track was engulfed by a massive wave. It had cost 8.5 million pounds and was inaugurated in January. It was only 4km long. Not to mention the fact that the Guanabara Bay, where sailing and windsurfing will occur, is heavily polluted. Last year, when a sailor went to test the water, he became infected with bacteria that was connected to the sewage problem.

It also boils down to safety. I’m Brazilian and even I am scared to go out at night. Last month, three Spanish athletes were robbed at gunpoint by five teenagers. This is not something that will be put on ‘pause’ when the other tourists arrive.

The International Olympic Committee has said that the lead-up to this year’s Olympic Games are the “worst ever”. Will this stop tourists from going? No. If you’re going, I wish you the best of time, really.

And you know what? I may be wrong about all this. Maybe everything will be forgotten the second the Olympic torch reaches the turf of the Maracana.

However, there is the potential that our political and economic state will decline, and that’s what scares me.