Rio under the microscope from Olympic Committee

London may be ready but is Brazil on course for the Games of 2016? Members of the International Olympic Committee have been in Rio de Janeiro to monitor the city’s preparations.

Rio is working to upgrade what was seen as a poor transport system and ease traffic jams ahead of the 2014 World Cup and the Olympic Games.

Brazil is the first South American nation to win one of sports’ greatest honours and the committee will return to keep a close eye on the preparations.

“The Olympic Committee established a model, a way of organising this. So, every three or four months they will come here to check up and see how the preparations are going. We can confirm from this visit, everything is within the schedule and the works are being completed,” explained the

Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes

Three new subway lines are under construction and a similar number of expressways for buses to link the heart of the Olympic Games to other regions.

The initial cost of staging the games of the 31st Olympiad in Rio was reckoned to be 10.5 billion euros.