This summer, despite the ongoing political and economic uncertainty in Brazil ( see more below ), the eyes of the rest of the world will be firmly on the city of Rio de Janeiro, the ‘cidade maravilhosa’ or wonderful city, where the first Olympic Games to be held in South America will take place. As suppliers of wine from Brazil, we will be watching the Games closely.
The main Olympics open in the iconic Maracanã stadium on 5th August and run till the 21st, while the Paralympics will be held from 7th-18th September.
Almost all the venues are now ready so – barring last minute hiccups – the games should be spectacular and hopefully will play out under blue skies and the warmth of a Brazilian tropical winter..
That said, 500,000 extra bodies are expected in this sprawling city of 10 million, so perhaps this isn’t the best time to head out to Rio – unless of course you’re an athletics fan. Traffic and transportation is never straightforward here, so our advice would be to ‘allow plenty of time for the journey’!
Brazil’s political crisis, brought into sharp relief by the upcoming impeachment trial of ( now ex – read more here ) President Dilma Rousseff, and the country’s ongoing economic problems may cast a shadow over the Games but a typically warm and effusive welcome from the ‘cariocas’ – the native inhabitants of Rio – is one thing that can be guaranteed for overseas visitors, while the country’s successful hosting of the World Cup football games bodes well for these first Brazilian and South American Olympics.
Counting our own friends and family amongst the Games’ volunteers, we send our best wishes to them, the athletes and all visitors to Rio.
More Games info here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/36084489