By Gary Anderson

November 6 - The João Havelange Olympic Stadium in Rio was one of a number of Rio 2016 venues visited by an international delegation of 13 NOCsA total of 29 representatives from 13 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have spent two days visiting Olympic sites in Rio as part of the third Rio 2016 NOC Open Day.

Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Village and NOC/NPC (National Paralympic Committee) relations and services director Mario Cilenti greeted the delegates in Rio de Janeiro and took them on a tour of some of the venues which will be used for the Games.

Belgium, Canada, Congo, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden and the Netherlands were all represented and after visiting the Sambódromo, famous for the annual Carnavale and venue for the archery and marathon events in 2016, the delegates were shown a number of presentations at Rio 2016 headquarters in the Cidade Nova.

They were also shown around the João Havelange Olympic Stadium which will host the athletics track and field events, the venue for golf's return to the Games, the Reserva Marapendi Golf, along with the Rio Centro venues, the Olympic Village and the Olympic Park in Barra in the west of the city.

"The National Olympic Committees and, through them, the athletes of the world, are the most important participants in the Games," said Cilenti.

"It is a top priority for the Rio 2016 Organising Committee to make sure they have the best possible experience during the Games.

"These meetings are extremely important to discuss all the developments regarding the Games and to help the NOCs with their own preparations.

"These two days were very productive for the Organising Committee."

Rio 2016's Mario Cilenti takes NOC delegates through plans for the Olympic VillageRio 2016's Mario Cilenti takes NOC delegates through plans for the Olympic Village





















On the second day delegates spent the morning visiting venues in Copacabana Beach, Flamengo Park and Marina da Gloria in the South Zone, and the National Equestrian Centre and the National Shooting Centre, situated in Deodoro in the North Zone before heading to the Maracanã Zone which contains the iconic Maracanã Stadium and the Maracanãzinho Gymnasium.

"Rio will be very special for everybody," said Heinz Thews, Luxembourg's Chef de Mission.

"It's a new continent for the Games and Rio is an exciting city.

"We know the project from presentations but seeing it with our own eyes is important.

"It will be a fantastic Village, it will be outstanding, and the athletes will feel very good there and well connected to the Olympic Park.

"These NOC Open Days are very important to come and see the reality of the city and to meet and build relationships with the people in the NOC relations team within the Organising Committee."

The final stop came at the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, which will host rowing and canoe sprint events during the Games.

Representatives of 13 NOCs visited Rio 2016 venues on a two-day visit including the Maracanã StadiumRepresentatives of 13 NOCs visited Rio 2016 venues on a two-day visit including the Maracanã Stadium























Daniel Katsuya Takahashi of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) was part of the previous visiting delegation in December last year and suggested that as well as keeping up-to-date with progress on preparations for Rio 2016, these visits will aid Tokyo 2020 in their planning.

"Last December I was here and that time there was nothing at the Olympic Village site, and now we can see buildings are already standing and we know this progress will get faster and faster," said Takahashi.

"In 2020 we are required to get good results and in order to do this we need to have better results in Rio in 2016.

"It's step by step, and this visit of course has helped in this process."

While the general views of delegates on the visit have been positive, Rio 2016 still has a number of issues that are causing concern regarding the city's readiness to host the Games.

Pockets of protest are still springing up across the country in relation to the cost of staging the 2014 FIFA World Cup and Rio 2016, while in August of this year the head of the country's Olympic Public Authority (APO), Marcio Fortes resigned complaining he was being undermined.

Added to this are ongoing concerns about the readiness of some venues including the João Havelange Olympic Stadium, which will host athletics events in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, after engineers shut it down in March for at least 18 months, citing structural problems with its roof.

Further visits to Rio for international delegates are planned for next year with meetings for NOCs scheduled to take place in April and October, while NPCs will visit in May and November 2014.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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