Security aspect of Rio Games seen as cause of concern by Finnish Olympic Committee

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Even though the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games - awarded last Friday in Copenhagen - are still seven years away, also the Finnish Olympic Committee has already expressed their concerns over the city’s security situation.
      Muggings, warfare between rival drug gangs, and even contract killings daunt the future Olympic guests, even though the Brazilian President Lula da Silva has promised to clamp down on crime in the city.
      “And so he should, for from this moment on the safety situation with the future Olympic host will be brought up in every meeting where there are representatives from Rio. The issue is a concern with everyone, not just the Finns”, says Jouko Purontakanen, Secretary-General of the Finnish Olympic Committee.
      “Still, Finland only needs to go there to take part in the games. We will not go there with our own security men for the athletes or the directors. It should be enough that the Finnish athletes and tourists are briefed in such a way that they know not to go and hang out in questionable areas of the city.”
      Purontakanen is in Copenhagen taking part in the International Olympic Committee’s 13th Olympic Congress.
     
In Purontakanen’s opinion, the granting of the games to Rio de Janeiro is a “great thing” from the global point of view, and it fills a crucial gap: the games will now be organised in South America for the very first time.
      For Finland, the selection of Rio will prove costly. In Purontakanen’s view it is already clear that the 2016 Games will be among the priciest ever for Finland. “The camps, the trips, and the climate will cause considerable additional expenses”, Purontakanen estimates.
      The Rio de Janeiro Games will commence on the 5th of August. According to statistics the average temperature should be around 22 degrees Celsius, which suits at least the Finns.
     
The U.S. Olympic Committee, which is still in a state of shock because of the early elimination of Chicago in the selection process, suggested on Sunday that in the future politicians and government leaders should no longer be allowed to be part of the Olympic Games application process.
      "I think it's [visits from heads of state and political leaders] getting ridiculous. We should go back to the videos", said Anita DeFrantz, one of two International Olympic Committee members from the U.S., speaking to Reuters.
      "They [Barack and Michelle Obama] won and Chicago lost. They were clearly the most popular people there but it was not a contest of most popular heads of state, as you know."
     
Purontakanen believes that heads of state will continue to be present even in the future selection events, but less weight will be placed on their appearances than was witnessed in Copenhagen, where kings, presidents, and prime ministers almost outnumbered the voting delegates as Madrid, Rio, Chicago and Tokyo sought to win the games.
      ”The content of the application, the passion that it radiates, the language politics, and the continent-specific emphases have clearly become the decisive factors.”
     
Finland, which organised the 1952 Summer Games, no longer aspires to play host to the Olympics, but will set its sights on smaller gatherings and conferences of individual disciplines.
      Only a year ago Denmark was still planning to apply for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
      The plan crumbled like a rye crispbread when the Danes saw the scale of the Beijing Games.


Links:
  Olympic.org

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