Congrats Rio on getting the Olympics.
Now the next qquestion, which the IOC did not ask enough- Are you capable of hosting the Olympics?
From a time magazine article "Rio's Olympics Quest: Can it handle the 2016 games?"
"Rio hosted the Pan American Games in 2007, an event that should have transformed the still sometimes provincial resort into a more modern, more international and safer city. The problem is, it didn't quite do that"
Now for details
"they promised to transform the city with a new ring road system, something called a "via light" railway (presumably a light railway), a new state highway and 54 km of new metro lines. But none of the roads, nary a kilometer of metro line, were built. Authorities also promised to clean up the Guanabara Bay, the fetid body of water whose smell assails visitors driving into town from the international airport. Although hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent, the stench persists and the bay remains a stinking eyesore."
The 2014 FIFA world cup doesn't look much better
"More worrying still is that lessons appear not to have been learned. Almost two years after Brazil was awarded the right to host the 2014 soccer World Cup, work has yet to start on its 12 stadiums. A proposed bullet train linking São Paulo and Rio is supposed to be operational in time for the tournament, but the official tender has not been issued yet, and even politicians are now admitting it could be late."
The underdelivering hasn't stopped the events going overbudget
"The Pan Ams reportedly ended up costing many times the original estimate of $177 million, a phenomenal amount given that none of the money went to the promised infrastructure projects. (Some reports had the final costs in Rio close to $2 billion; "
And some more problems
"Some commentators said that was indicative of corruption, but it also suggests serious deficiencies in organization and planning. "Brazil is still learning how to do continuous public policy," Alencar said. "Public works are emergency, localized, specific. There is no strategic planning involved. That was what happened with the Pan Ams.""
I would like to see Brazil have the Olympics. But it needs to prove it is capable of hosting them.
If I were an IOC member, I would ask the Rio delegation to explain the broken promises in the Pan-Am games, why none of the 2014 stadiums have started construction yet, the lack of tenders and progress for the bullet train (which is still at the drawing board, despite it meant to be built in 5 years). While the bullet trains or each metro extension is not vital to the games, it does not give much confidence the stadiums and more serious stuff will be built in time.
Lastly from the article:
"It isn't right that the Olympics be held in the U.S. for the eighth time," Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said recently, in what was just one in a series of typical appeals to IOC delegates. "It's not possible that it be in England in 2012 and in another European country in 2016 ... It's not fair that Brazil, one of the 10 biggest economies in the world for 30 years; that Brazil, one of the world's industrialized countries, a nation that has demonstrated its love for sports; it's not fair that Brazil not be chosen."
It is not fair that Brazil get the host the Olympics when it is not ready for it.
I really like the idea of Brazil having the Olympics. I am sorry I have to say this, but I worry that what should be a moment of national pride could become a moment of national embarrasment.