Rio Village ‘not safe’
AUSTRALIA’S team bosses have refused to move staff or athletes into the Olympic Village in Rio after claiming the buildings are uninhabitable.
The opening ceremony in Rio is just 11 days away and Australia’s team staff were scheduled to move into their Olympic base last Thursday to prepare for next week’s arrival of the athletes.
But those in Brazil have been forced to stay in nearby hotels and the Australian Olympic Committee have arranged for their athletes to stay in alternative accommodation after complaining the village is ‘simply not safe or ready’.
Australia’s chef de mission Kitty Chiller said: ‘Problems include blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors in need of a massive clean. In operations areas water has come through the ceiling resulting in large puddles on the floor around cabling.’ Chiller said extra maintenance staff and over 1,000 cleaners had been moved in to fix the faults.
Chiller added: ‘There is much work to be done at the village and we appreciate the efforts of the IOC and the Rio organising committee to solve the problems.’
The Team GB accommodation is more ready for the arrival of the first athletes in the next 36 hours.
But there have been issues with plumbing and the state of the accommodation which means a maintenance team have been working for the last seven days to get it ready.