OH RIO MY!
The Games have been hit by fears about Zika and crime, but Brazil has hit back with its secret weapon – a supermodel Girl From Ipanema
SUPERMODEL Gisele Bundchen is coming out of retirement to launch the Rio Olympics as the embodiment of the famous Girl From Ipanema, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Stunning Gisele, 35, who announced she was quitting the catwalk last year, will be one of many ‘surprises’ planned for the ‘sexiest ever’ Olympic opening ceremony on August 5, which is expected to attract a global TV audience of a billion.
Gisele will strut into Rio’s Maracana stadium to the strains of the famous bossa nova jazz song, played on a piano by Brazilian musician Paolo Jobim, whose late father Antonio composed the worldwide hit in 1962.
Legendary Brazilian footballer Pele is being tipped to light the Olympic flame – the gesture that traditionally opens the Games.
Details of the show have been kept secret, but insiders say it will feature 6,000 scantily clad performers and that the theme will be ‘the evolution of the people of Brazil’, featuring tributes to the rainforest, Brazil’s famous Carnival and the country’s love of sensual dance and the female form.
‘There will be lots of nearly naked women doing the samba,’ said a source connected with the threehour spectacle, after a dress rehearsal surrounded by armed guards. ‘The costumes have been designed to show off as much flesh as possible which means as little material as they can get away with.
‘This is Brazil, after all, where the female body is celebrated like no other place on Earth.’
But with just 13 days to go, a series of crises is threatening to overshadow the Games:
A crime spree at the Olympic Village has seen everything from toilet seats to lamp fixtures stolen by thieves;
Scientists warn that a ‘perfect storm’ of warming temperatures and sexually promiscuous athletes could cause the mosquito-borne Zika virus to explode;
Terror fears have led to the drafting of 85,000 extra police and military guards after ten alleged terrorists were arrested last week and charged with plotting to attack the Games.
As the first British athletes arrived in Brazil this weekend to begin training, Rio newspaper Globo reported a spate of robberies from the Olympic Village that will be home to 17,000 athletes, including British medal favourites Jessica Ennis-Hill and Mo Farah.
Light fittings, lamps, mirrors, even toilet seats were taken – despite tight security measures that include metal detectors and armed guards at entrances and exits, the report said. Construction teams were reported to be ‘working around the clock’ to make the village functional before today’s official opening.
Globo said many of the 3,604 flats still did not have functional water, gas or electricity supplies. An insider said: ‘The systems were only tested at the last minute and found to be defective.’
Mario Cilenti, the head of the Olympic Village yesterday played down any security scares, saying: ‘The village is safe. There is a double ring of security. We are on constant alert.’ Meanwhile, experts are warning of a ‘perfect storm’ that may cause cases of the deadly Zika virus to escalate.
The mosquito-borne disease, which causes devastating birth defects, has been largely under control in recent weeks thanks to the Brazilian winter as temperatures have ‘dipped’ to 17C. But forecasters predict that temperatures will soar to 28C.
Professor Osvaldo Nascimento, a leading neurologist who has been spearheading research into the epidemic, said sexual promiscuity in the Olympic Village could fuel the spread of the virus.
He said: ‘The worry is not just mosquitos but also the virus being
‘Promiscuity could fuel spread of the Zika virus’
passed on through sexual activity.’
A spokesman for Team GB insisted all members were aware of guidelines on how to protect against contracting the virus.
Athletes will get free mosquito repellent and will be urged to wear long-sleeve shirts and long trousers rather than shorts.
A record 450,000 free condoms and 175,000 packets of anti-viral lubricant will be provided in the Olympic Village in the course of the 17-day event.
Athletes and VIP guests, including David Beckham and British Olympic Association chairman Lord Coe, will be able to visit ‘British House’, a converted art school in lush gardens at the base of the famous Christ the Redeemer statue, where there will be a series of events promoting British culture.
The house, paid for with £650,000 of taxpayers’ money, will serve as the setting for two performances of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, cocktail parties and a rock ’n’ roll night to showcase British music.
An extra 85,000 police and military personnel have been drafted into Rio from cities around Brazil in the wake of terrorist attacks in Nice and Munich.
Last week, ten Brazilians were arrested in an alleged plot to attack Olympic venues. One has been charged with attempting to make a bomb concealed in a backpack.
Unfortunately, the extra security has come too late for the British sailing team, which had two support vessels stolen last month.
The sailing venue in Guanabara Bay has come under criticism for being polluted. A human arm was recently photographed floating in the water.
But Olympic organisers remain upbeat. A spokesman said: ‘We are confident that everything is being done to protect all athletes attending what is sure to be a memorable and hugely successful event.’