Rio Olympic Inspectors Arrive for Check Up

(ATR) The IOC Coordination Commission for the 2016 Olympics opens three days of meetings Monday in Rio de Janeiro.

It’s the first visit of the 15 member group since the World Cup ended in July. The IOC team will be looking for signs that preparation for the 2016 Games have the undivided attention of government and sponsors.

The commission is led by Nawal El Moutawakel, IOC member from Morocco.

The coordination commission begins its work with a plenary session Monday afternoon and ends on Wednesday.

Among those travelling for this visit are Ty Votaw, PGA vice president for the Olympics. He tells Around the Rings that despite the slow on the golf course for the Rio Olympics, he is optimistic all will be ready on time.

This visit, the seventh, will be the first under new IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi. He took charge of the office this month, succeeding veteran Gilbert Felli. Felli remains a special advisor for the IOC on Rio and spent last week in the Olympic city ahead of the coordination commission visit.

While venue tours are part of the agenda, the commission will spend about half its time in closed-door briefings on Games preparations.

The meeting comes just days before the first vote in Brazil’s presidential election, set for October 5. The Olympics have not been an issue in the multi-candidate campaign but the IOC will be watching for continuity from the federal government, which is heavily involved in preparations for the Games. Also up for election is the governor for the state of Rio de Janeiro, which has a leading role in security operations for the Olympics.

It will be up to the leadership of Rio 2016 to explain to the IOC how the outcome of the national and state votes might impact the Games.

Written by Ed Hula.