Future host cities ready to draw inspiration from ‘marvellous’ Rio Games
The IOC Debriefing Olympic Games Rio 2016 got underway on 28 November in Tokyo, the host city of the next edition of the Games of the Olympiad. Organised by the IOC, the event has brought 25 members of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee to the Japanese capital in order to share their knowledge and experience with representatives from future Olympic host cities.
Attending the Debriefing are approximately 500 delegates from Tokyo 2020, 25 from PyeongChang 2018, 17 from Beijing 2022 and five from each of the 2024 candidate cities. The event is designed for them to learn and share based on the experience of Rio 2016, from the seven years of preparation to the delivery of the 16 days of competition and the ongoing process of securing the post-Games legacy.
The IOC President, Thomas Bach, delivered a message via video to the opening day’s plenary session. In his message, the IOC President pointed out that half the world’s population had tuned into Olympic coverage: “We had an increase of 75% of produced broadcast hours compared to London 2012. We had 5 billion impressions on our social media platforms.” He went on to say: “These were marvellous Games in the Marvellous City. Hopefully, you can carry the inspiration and energy that we saw in Brazil to the next host cities.”
These were marvellous Games in the Marvellous City. Hopefully, you can carry the inspiration and energy that we saw in Brazil to the next host cities.
“Amazing”, was how Brazilian Olympic Committee President Carlos Arthur Nuzman described the hosting process. “Brazil had enormous pride in this moment,” he said. “We won the Games for the transformation, and Rio delivered history.”
Eduardo Paes, Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, echoed his compatriot’s view, highlighting the dramatic transformation of his city as a result of hosting the Games. “There is one Rio before the Games and one R
IOC Coordination Commission Chair Nawal El Moutawakel expanded on the transformational influence that the Games had exerted on the host city. “The 2016 Games became a catalyst for urban development, which has spurred investment in Rio that would otherwise not have happened,” she said.
In just seven years, the number of people with access to good quality public transport increased from just 18 per cent in 2009, when Rio was elected, to 63 per cent in 2016.
“The improvements in the city's infrastructure are a good example. In just seven years, the number of people with access to good quality public transport increased from just 18 per cent in 2009, when Rio was elected, to 63 per cent in 2016. There are now four new rapid bus lines, a better rail service and a new light rail system, as well as improved airports.
“The IOC actively supports efforts in social development as part of its overall engagement and as part of the Olympic legacy, and one example is Rio’s Transforma education programme,” continued El Moutawakel. “This took sport to more than 12,000 schools across Brazil, and encouraged more than six million young people to lead healthier lifestyles.”
Tokyo 2020 President Toshiro Mori said that the Japanese capital would certainly draw inspiration from the 2016 Games: “I believe that Rio 2016 was a superb Games which conveyed the passion of Brazil to the rest of the world.” He added that he was very much “looking forward to learning from the experiences of the Rio 2016 Games.”
Meanwhile, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, who received the Olympic flag from Mayor Paes during the 2016 Closing Ceremony, expressed her admiration for everything that had been achieved by the organisers of the Rio Games.
“I have the deepest respect for your hard work,” she told the Rio delegates. “I clearly remember sensing the full weight of responsibility as it became Tokyo's turn to host the Games, and we will firmly apply the Rio experience and advance thorough preparations for the success of the 2020 Games.”