IOC President Visits Rio Favela, Olympics Projects

(ATR) He’s in Brazil, but hardly on holiday. IOC President Jacques Rogge visits transportation works for the Olympics and a favela that’s changing on day four of his trip to 2016 Olympics host Rio de Janeiro .

This is Rogge’s first visit in more than three years and first since Rio won the Games 13 months ago.

Accompanied by the chair of the IOC Coordination Commission for Rio de Janeiro, IOC member Nawal El Moutawakel, and Gilbert Felli, the IOC’s Executive Director for Olympic Games, Rogge is making the rounds of projects that will help define how the Olympics will change Rio de Janeiro.

Thursday morning Rogge and his entourage visited the Grota Funda tunnel, to become a vital link in the flow of traffic to and from the western suburbs where most of the venues for Rio 2016 are located. Rogge also visited a construction site for the new Line 4 for the Rio subway.

"What they are doing here will vastly improve the traffic situation in Rio," Rogge tells Around the Rings.

"I’m happy with what’s happening," he says about what he’s seen so far in the Olympic city.

His final stop of the day came at the Cantagalo/Pavao-Pavaozinho favela that overlooks Copacabana and Impanema.

The favela has been the beneficiary of significant government attention. First, police forces drove out the drug trade. That was followed by spending on social services and infrastructure, such as a 100-meter high elevator tower and walkwaythat connects the favela to the street level and a subway stop.

At the favela, Rogge and his IOC colleagues were presented with jerseys and footballs from Rio de Janeiro teams by youngsters from the favela.

"We welcome the efforts of public authorities to improve the security in the favelas," Rogge says.

"We would hope that the Games would give a positive legacy forthe living conditions in the favelas. It’s a very ambitious plan of the public authorities that we support wholeheartedly," he says.

Friday, Rogge will have a look at the new state-of-the-art operations center for the city. Then he will visit the old port district which is being renovated at the urging of Rio mayor Eduardo Paes. New hotels and housing in the district will be used during the Olympics by technical officials and media for sports being held in nearby venues, such as athletics, archery and volleyball.

Friday night, New Year’s Eve, Rogge will attend the unveiling of the new logo for Rio 2016. The launch of the new emblem will take place on Copacabana Beach, where as many as two million revelers could turn out.

Written and reported in Rio de Janeiro by Ed Hula.