Skip to main content
Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

IOC Inspector: Rio de Janeiro ‘ready to welcome the world’

In this Sunday, July 3, 2016 photo, fishermen protest the pollution in the Guanabara bay, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio state officials have acknowledged a real cleanup of Guanabara will take 20 years after organizers promised to do it for the Olympics, with the city still pouring at least half of its untreated sewage into its surrounding waters, including Guanabara. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
In this Sunday, July 3, 2016 photo, fishermen protest the pollution in the Guanabara bay, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio state officials have acknowledged a real cleanup of Guanabara will take 20 years after organizers promised to do it for the Olympics, with the city still pouring at least half of its untreated sewage into its surrounding waters, including Guanabara. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo) In this Sunday, July 3, 2016 photo, fishermen protest the pollution in the Guanabara bay, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio state officials have acknowledged a real cleanup of Guanabara will take 20 years after organizers promised to do it for the Olympics, with the city still pouring at least half of its untreated sewage into its surrounding waters, including Guanabara. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

By Associated Press 1 min read

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – The head inspector for the IOC says she’s confident the Rio de Janeiro Olympics are “ready to welcome the world” with the games opening in less than four weeks.

Nawal El Moutawakel visited the city over the weekend and, in a statement from the International Olympic Committee on Monday, she says: “I cannot imagine more spectacular backdrops for the world’s top sportsmen and women to showcase their talents to a watching world.”

Rio has been beset by a long list of problems: the Zika epidemic, rising violence and security risks, severe water pollution and slow ticket sales. In addition, the county is in its worst recession since the 1930s and the impeachment trial of President Dilma Rousseff is set to begin just days after the Olympics end.