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Unpaid volunteers worth millions to Olympic Games

FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2008, file photo, volunteers cheer during the opening ceremony in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Rio De Janeiro needs 70,000 unpaid volunteers for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. Volunteers are not only unpaid, but they pay their own lodging and transportation to the host city. They get transportation to venues and meals only on the days they work, some training and uniforms to treasure. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2008, file photo, volunteers cheer during the opening ceremony in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Rio De Janeiro needs 70,000 unpaid volunteers for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. Volunteers are not only unpaid, but they pay their own lodging and transportation to the host city. They get transportation to venues and meals only on the days they work, some training and uniforms to treasure. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File) FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2008, file photo, volunteers cheer during the opening ceremony in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Rio De Janeiro needs 70,000 unpaid volunteers for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics. Volunteers are not only unpaid, but they pay their own lodging and transportation to the host city. They get transportation to venues and meals only on the days they work, some training and uniforms to treasure. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

By Associated Press 5 min read

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Rio needs 70,000 unpaid volunteers for the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, and Brazilian Olympic medalist Ricardo Prado is making a pitch with a deadline for signups just three weeks away.

“Without the athletes, the games can’t happen,” he says in a recruiting advertisement. “But without the volunteers, it’s the same.”

The International Olympic Committee promotes volunteers as the spirit of the games, recalling a time when athletes were unpaid amateurs. They do thousands of jobs – greet fans, escort athletes and give directions around town – and many deliver specialized services. They’re the smiling faces of the host nation, often praised at the opening and closing ceremonies by monarchs, presidents and prime ministers.

They also save organizers at least $100 million in salaries – and possibly more.

“There is a question to be asked: Is the exchange really even, or is it unequal?” said Laurence Chalip, who conducted a study for the IOC on volunteers at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.