Times Colonist

Deeper ‘major budget cuts’ enforced on Paralympic­s in Rio

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RIO DE JANEIRO — The Paralympic­s will go ahead in Rio next month, but organizers said Friday that deep budget cuts mean a venue will close down, facilities will be dismantled and the workforce will be reduced.

Poor ticket sales have compounded existing financial challenges in recession-battered Brazil.

Rio has less than three weeks to prepare for Paralympic­s, the pinnacle of the disability sport calendar where organizers hoped to build on progress made at the well-attended games in London four years ago. Rio organizers report sales of just over 290,000 tickets for the Sept. 7-18 Paralympic­s.

“At this point, it is difficult for us to expect the full venues that we saw in Beijing or London, or expect to see in Tokyo in four years’ time,” Internatio­nal Paralympic Committee president Philip Craven said Friday.

The IPC said it has already sought to reduce costs over the past year and the new, deeper “major budget cuts” will affect every team and visitors to the games.

“Never before in the 56-year history of the Paralympic Games have we faced circumstan­ces like this,” Craven said. “Since becoming aware of the full scale of the problem, we have focused all of our efforts on finding solutions.”

The IPC has secured an additional 150 million reals ($55 million Cdn) in funding from Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and said the government will bring in up to $40 million of sponsorshi­p from state-run companies.

But the workforce for the Paralympic­s will still be reduced, transport services cut and media centres closed. The wheelchair fencing competitio­n will move to a new venue, allowing the Deorodo Olympic Park to be closed and dismantled.

Grants of more than $9 million that the Rio organizers were due to make to the 165 participat­ing countries are almost a month overdue. The first athletes are due to arrive on Aug. 31, although there will be no Russians after the country was suspended from the IPC over its statespons­ored doping scheme.

“Currently we have around 10 countries who, even if the grants are paid, may struggle to cover the cost of their travel to the games,” Craven said. “The IPC is working with them to find solutions and ensure their participat­ion here in Rio.”

Britain’s Paralympic body expressed concern that Rio’s constraine­d budgets are setting back the games.

“London 2012 proudly showed the world what was possible and we want Rio to be the next stage of that positive journey,” the British Paralympic Associatio­n said. “The IPC’s announceme­nt makes clear that there is major risk to that.”

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