100 days until Rio 2016: 'It will be a great party, with a garbage legacy' | Sport | The Guardian

"There is far more to Rio, and perceptions can change quickly. With about the same amount of time to go before the 2014 World Cup, the focus was on possible protests and delays in stadium construction. Neither proved to be major problems and the event was widely considered a success, despite the pain of the host’s 7-1 semi-final defeat and the legacy of expensive white elephants. Compared with that, the Olympics appear to be in a healthy position with no major protests and most infrastructure on time and on budget – though there are lingering concerns about the velodrome and a subway line extension.

Organisers of Rio 2016 say there is much to be proud of. Although they admit the public is distracted and somewhat demoralised, they see the Olympics as part of the solution for Brazil rather than the problem.

For Sérgio Praça,  this is part of a bigger problem of staging huge sporting events, which serve the interests of a small segment of society at the expense of the majority.

“For the politicians, the Olympics can be great. But for the population in general, these mega-events like the World Cup and the Olympics are bad. It moves people from their homes, triggers a lot of public investments that aren’t necessary. We have empty stadiums that aren’t being used from the World Cup ... These aren’t events for the Brazilian population – the price is too high.”

“In its current mould, these are events for developed countries due to the logistics, infrastructure and the luxury of the installations, particularly for sports that only exist in rich countries,” he says. “Who is going to watch badminton in Brazil? Who is going to watch rugby sevens in Brazil?

read more in the articly by Jonathan Watts​ >> 
100 days until Rio 2016: 'It will be a great party, with a garbage legacy' | Sport | The Guardian: