Expert Says Rio 2016 Budget Cuts on Target

(ATR) Rio 2016 Senior Olympic Games Advisor Gilbert Felli says that potential budget cuts down the homestretch to the Rio de Janeiro Games will be dealt with prudently as the time comes.

Felli says it’s nothing new in the annals of the Games.

"It’s exactly the same period when every organizing committee is talking about final budget," Felli said shortly after a presentation on Rio de Janeiro at the Smart Cities and Sport Summit in Lausanne.

"In every committee, London, Vancouver, and the two last ones, we’ve spent time at this period to review if they could find ways not to spend so much on the Games," he said.

"They are on the same period as the others," Felli said of Rio organizers.

"What they are going to do, we do not know exactly," said the former Executive Director of the Olympic Games, who is now solely focusing on assisting Rio 2016. "We are still waiting for the list of want they want to do exactly and we will discuss it."

"You have to make sure that the efficiency of the budget does not affect the work of the people – first the athletes, then the coaches and media," he said. "Those are the one who need to be protected."

Last week, Rio 2016 media chief Mario Andrada told reporters at a press briefing that cost cutting measures are necessary to avoid a ten percent overspend.

Rio organizers are pressing for savings that would prevent costs from exceeding the $1.9 billion budget. Some departments are being asked to cut projected costs by as much as 30 percent.

Felli playfully used cuisine at the Olympic Family lounge as an example of last minute budget cut decisions which are less critical.

"Torino decided to cut all the food in the lounge saying we cannot afford and then the Italian associations like salami and all the others said you cannot come to Italy and have this and then they decided to put the food there."

Felli then spoke about the varying importance of copy machines.

"If a technical delegate needs to sign the results sheet two minutes after competition, then you cannot suppress a photo copier next to him," Felli said.

"Now if you have six or seven photo copiers for your administration, you can cut a few and then they’ll just have to wait in a line for five minutes," he continued.

"So it’s the kind of thing when you’ve get there with your budget, you expect that you can make cuts and be better with less spending,".

"You put everybody in the room, you discuss it, and then you make these decisions," Felli said of the process for organizers to determine final Games budgets.

"You can do it at this stage because you know much better your operation, the details of it and you can see better why you can say yes or no."

The veteran IOC expert said final budget cuts will most likely be made by the end of 2015.

Written and reported in Lausanne by Brian Pinelli.

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