Nuzman highlights the importance of the Pan American Games for the Olympic project

Rio 2016™ president highlights the importance of the Pan American Games for the city’s Olympic project during PASO’s Assembly With three days to go to the opening of the Pan American Games Guadalajara 2011, in Mexico, the president of the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Rio 2016™, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, today (Tuesday, October 11) stressed the importance of the second largest multisport event in the planet by recalling the significance of staging the Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2007 to the success of the city’s Olympic bid.

While presenting the progress report on preparations for the Rio 2016™ Games to the Pan American Sport Organization (PASO) General Assembly in Guadalajara, Nuzman showed how the 2007 Pan American Games proved to the world that Rio de Janeiro was prepared to organise large scale sporting events, and qualified the city to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Because of the 2007 Pan American Games, Rio was the candidate city to the 2016 Summer Olympics that required the smaller amount of new sporting venues, being thus able to concentrate on the city’s long-needed infrastructure improvements. Thanks to the use of all the facilities built for the 2007 Pan American Games, 47% of the Rio 2016™ venues already exist (25% will be temporary and only 28% will have to be built).

Nuzman listed these venues, describing how they have been used since 2007 – the João Havelange Olympic Stadium (which will play host to athletics in 2016 and is currently home to three of the four big football clubs in Rio in addition to mega music concerts), the Maria Lenk Aquatic Park (a synchronised swimming, swimming and diving training facility, as well as the venue of a Taekwondo Training Centre and future home of the Brazilian Olympic Laboratory), the Velodrome (which has already hosted cycling, skating, wrestling, judo and weightlifting competitions, and is also a cycling and skating training venue), the Deodoro Sports Complex (which boasts a world-class shooting centre, an Olympic-level equestrian centre and an equine laboratory, besides having already hosted approximately 150 events), and the Olympic Arena (run by one of the world’s leading event companies under the same standards as the major international multi-purpose arenas).

"The main legacy left by the Pan American Games Rio 2007 to the city, Brazil and South America was the right to host the Olympic Games for the first time," Nuzman said. "Each Pan American Games host has its own objective. Rio’s biggest goal was to host the Olympic Games and we are happy to have been able to achieve it. I hope Guadalajara also reaches its targets and I am sure it will deliver magnificent Games," he added.

The excellence of the Rio 2007 Games was also recognised by those involved with the organisation of the Guadalajara Pan American Games, starting with Emilio Gonzalez Marquez, governor of the state of Jalisco, whose capital is the host city of this year’s Games.

"Rio de Janeiro took the Pan American Games to another level, which is difficult to overcome. We all remember Olympic-level venues such as the Joao Havelange Stadium."

Then, the director general of the Guadalajara Organising Committee for the Games (COPAG), Carlos Andrade Garin, made other rave reviews. "As Rio split the Games history into before and after 2007, we hope Guadalajara also offers its contribution. Because of the Rio Games, we changed our initial plan, and instead of six, decided to build 23 sports venues," he explained.

For more information, contact: bernardo.domingues@rio2016.com

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