Rio Report - Scandal; Olympic Marketing Shakeup; Golf Course Contest

Brazil Sports Minister Faces Accusations of Scandal

Brazilian Minister of Sport Orlando Silva is defending allegations he helped send government contracts to businesses and organizations. A magazine reports that Silva, along with others from Silva’s PCB political party, may have received cash payments for the favors.

Silva served as sports minister during the Rio bid for the 2016 Olympics and was reappointed to the post earlier this year by new Brazilian President Dilma Roussef.

Silva, who was in Guadalajara for the opening of the Pan Am Games, returned to Brazil this weekend to carry out damage control. He is reported to have met Sunday night with a deputy to Rousseff to explain the situation after meeting in Sao Paolo with party leaders.

Silva has publicly denied the charges, but acknowledges one contract with a Sao Paolo group may have been awarded in error.

Silva says he expects to speak before a congressional committee sometime this week to offer his side of the story.

Brazilian reports suggest that Silva’s explanations could determine his political fate. Other reports suggest that Rousseff was already uncomfortable with the job Silva was doing on preparations for the 2014 World Cup.

IOC Reaction to Rio Changes is Muted

The IOC says it has full confidence in the marketing program for the 2016 Olympics despite last week’s firing of marketing chief Maggie Sanchez and two top deputies.

"We have full confidence in the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and in Leonardo Gryner, the Rio 2016 CEO, as interim manager of the commercial and marketing programme," says an email statement to ATR from the IOC.

"We are certain they will continue to manage a successful commercial programme, which is very much on target," says the IOC.

Sanchez, a former marketing executive with Microsoft, joined Rio one year ago.

ATR is told by a Rio spokesman that the changes were needed because of a difference in philosophy between Sanchez and Rio 2016 management.

Golf Course Design Contest

Bidding is underway to design the course on which golf will stage its Olympic comeback.

Rio 2016 opened the call over the weekend for submissions to a contest judged by representatives of the International Golf Federation, Rio City Hall and the Rio2016 Golf Advisory Committee as well as the organizing committee itself.

The course is bound for Reserva de Marapendi in the Olympic epicenter ofBarra da Tijuca, meaning golfers will play about 5km from where they stay in the Athletes Village.

"Participants will be asked to design a project that: meets IGF specifications; is capable of becoming an international center of excellence for the sport of golf for professional and community use as a legacy to Rio’s population; respects the environmental law in force and the local ecosystem; is capable of promoting Rio internationally and constitutes an important tool for youth transformation through sport," says the call for submissions.

"The project must also plan for all the stages of use of the golf course: before Rio 2016™ Games with the test events, at Games time and after the Games as a legacy."

Statements of interest are due Oct. 28 with a shortlist of bidders to be announced Nov. 8.

A project briefing will follow later in November with Dec. 16 as the deadline for final proposals and Dec. 23 as decision day.

The winning candidate will get a fixed budget of $300,000 to develop the course’s design.

In addition, the designer must set up an office in Rio if located outside Brazil.

Written by Ed Hula.

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