Rio Olympics Facing Serious Issues and Security Threats

Following in the unfortunate footsteps of the 2014 Winter Games’ host and earning the similar troll nickname and trending topic (“Sochi Problems”), Rio’s been subject to myriad criticism surrounding not only its preparations and execution as Rio Olympics host city, but has also become a bastion of what is wrong across Brazil.

The ongoing Rio Olympics has been hit by several violent incidents, including an attempted mugging which left two people dead here on Saturday.

Security for spectators and athletes was and continues to be a topic of great concern. Roughly 500,000 foreign visitors are expected to converge on Rio de Janeiro throughout the 19 days, and there are about 85,000 police and soldiers on hand, more than double the security for London.

While the Rio Games may have their share of difficulties, problems surrounding the Olympics are often exaggerated and some issues are clearly outside of the organizers’ control. Such grandiose and ambitious events can’t help but be subjected to some troubles along the way and many complaints can be rather petty.

Here is a list of some serious issues in Rio Olympics 2016:

1. Lack of Food: A lack of eating options in the media work room led the president of the International Sports Press Association, Gianni Merlo, to issue a statement which included: “More than 5,000 accredited journalists are expected in Rio and if there’s one thing that journalists don’t like it’s being hungry.”
2. Low Budget: Brazil is in a steep recession, and the Olympics aren’t exactly helping. Sport-related costs of the Games will have a $1.6 billion overrun, according to a report by The University of Oxford’s Said Business School.
3. Accommodation issue: Numerous athletes from all over the globe have been subject to haphazard or outright incomplete housing since they arrived in Rio. The Olympic Village has become a gold mine of tweets from Olympians attempting to fix up their lodgings.
4. Political Issues:Many ticket holders were thrown out of Olympic sites because they protested Brazil interim president Michel Temer and that has called the treatment of Brazilians’ civil rights into question. And before the Opening Ceremony on Friday, thousands reportedly protested the billions in government spending to host the Games rather than allocating the necessary funds for schools and basic infrastructure like hospitals.
5. Zika Virus: The Zika virus that caused several high-profile professional athletes to sidestep Rio altogether, hasn’t truly reared its potentially dangerous head. But athletes are hearing boos and jeers from spectators hoping to get into their heads. American beach volleyball players Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat heard fans scream.
6. With the global attention on Brazil comes scrutiny about a high-level officials. Specifically, an investigation into state-run oil firm Petro bras, known as Operation Car Wash, has revealed questionable activity by top government officials. Just one day before the opening ceremony, Brazil president Dilma Rousseff was found guilty of budget fraud by a senate committee.
7. Strong Sunday winds close down a souvenir store, it also meant a postponement for rowing events. Serbian rowers Milos Vasic and Nenad Bedik even capsized during their semifinal. Play was also delayed for tennis.

Rio Olympics 2016 is getting exciting day by day and at the same time making news related to serious issues.