To think Rio has been shocking

[pleasemothermay1]

There is hardly any one in the seats even the foot ball and brizallians love foot ball

The pools are green no one can say why I hear a rugby athlete got injured they got lost on route to the hospital in abulance 😳

There are issues with transport

The ioc have said this has been one of the most diffcult games in a long time

Even the opening was very poor I no they didn't have much money so why not just do a carnival instead they tried to copy ours though the ages sort of thing but not very well play to your strengths I think some samba and carival theam would have been awesome.

Also some govermnet staff have not been paid I fear that it's unlikely the para games will be much better
Contrast to London were there wasn't a ticket going begging even for the para games

I think it's all well and good allowing emerging countries to have this but they must be able to afford it and also show that the tickets will be pitched at a price of the avarge wage

amd also that the cost of the games is not at the expense of paying your govermnet staff there will be no legacy at least we have had the good sense to sell some of our ventunes I don't think there is any vunue sitting empty

The empty stadiums are an embarrassment

Who is embarrassed? No one has mentioned them here in Brazil. Only place they've been mentioned that I can see is in the UK. They seem to be the main topic of conversation. Ironic really given the empty seat fiasco of London 2012. They were made to sell them and bus in children because so many people were told the tickets were "sold out" before the games started and they needed to rectify that rapidly.

You were shocked at the public transport system of Rio? What exactly did you find shocking? I managed to get round the city perfectly fine when I lived there and that's before they built new metro links and updated the bus system with a whole new fleet.

I'm in Rio right now, having a completely epic time! I went to the rowing yesterday and there were decent numbers of locals cheering in their rowers in the lower placings races. It was possible to see the rowing from outside of the venue too - no need to buy tickets if you were a knowledgable local! We tried to get tickets for the beach volleyball in the afternoon but it was completely sold out as Brazil were playing. We sat on a fairly packed Copacabana beach instead and watched locals playing football and volleyball.

I think that coming straight after London there is a bit of a more amateurish feel about the organisation. But this is not necessarily a bad thing. While it was a bit annoying going round in circles before finally having to give our taxi driver directions, the slightly looser organisation does mean we've managed to get very close to a lot of the athletes. (I've got photos of me with 6 gold medals and 12 silvers - actually got to wear one of them for a bit!) As I say, it has been epic and everyone here seems to be enjoying it. It would perhaps seem easier to pick apart from afar?

Well the Palesinian thing is quite under stable quite honestly!

Some major history revisionism going on here about London 2012!!

Isn't there just!

London 2012 had lots of empty seats.

Maybe we should concentrate on Team GB and look at the amazing achievements of all the athletes and all those that have retained olympic titles such as Mo Farah, and the likes of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning, instead of moaning about lack of spectators etc?! Personally I think GB have done an amazing job and thats what we should be looking at. Yes, there have been teething problems but that's life.

OP your attitude is deplorable.

"...while the poor watch on from the shanty towns those who think it's been a success"

They're not allowed to feel pride because you say so? I was rolling my eyes at your posts but this line actually made me feel a wave of nausea.

If you're so convinced that the event is a complete disaster in every respect, and every post you've made shouts your anger and arrogance loudly and clearly, how about you consider showing some concern and empathy?

Ask questions about why and what can change rather than just point and bitch.

I saw an item which said that the pollution levels in the water were one million times the safety level allowed , and that the rowers would be competing in ....well.. .. sewage. This in spite of promises to clean up well before the games. Again, cost I guess. The photos of the accommodation were pretty awful too. It always seems that the bills get completely out of hand for one reason or another and end up several times the original estimates. Sad for Rio, and the participants this time - it's a wonderful ethos and the London 2012 games were wonderful Nobody does it like us.

Nobody does it like us

Oh put the union jack down and get over yourself!

i can hear the commentators complaining about the lack of water facilities at the Marathon.

i hate to hear so much criticism though, they are going on and on.

Change the record

Dizzy my perhaps ignorant impression of Brazil is that parts of it suffer from poverty and corruption - l think they are doing their best but l can't help contrasting the money spent with the plight of some of the people living in slums. We can't expect the same show as London and neither should we want it if the country can't afford it. Or is it just me.

I think the BBC commentators have been surprisingly vocal about things that they think aren't up to standard. I'm just watching the marathon and they've spent the last 20 minutes basically slagging off the organisation of the race. I can understand that it must be very frustrating to see poor organisation when you've previously competed so you can empathise with the athletes, but I do think it's a bit out of line.

It's difficult to know whether things really are as bad as they're making them out to be or whether they're catastrophising slightly. Things like the green diving pool (that apparently smells like egg) are clearly going wrong, but I think it's unsporting to constantly focus on the bad - it's hardly like they make a big song and dance when things go right.

Xpost Noah - I'm glad I'm not the only one who's getting annoyed with it!

You can't blame people for being upset about the feeding stations . Water is so important to any athlete , especially distance runners .
As far as venues are concerned , we visited the Montreal Olympic site when we visited the city , and it was so sad , like a sixties concrete ghetto ,and nobody seemed to have any pride in it whatsoever .

What Rainbunny said.
People seem to forget Brazil isn't a rich country and while we're in the midst of the summer hols most people there are working hard yet still not earning enough to buy tickets and I v much doubt it's big on their priority list anyway.

There were a lot of much smaller things left as a legacy from the London olympics.

My folks live in a tiny village in the west country. This tiny village, and many of the others around it happen to be on the mainline to London, albeit 2 hours away. They were also about an hour from the sailing.
Their village and others near by had their train stations improved and pavements put in to allow you to walk from the village to the train station. This has made a huge difference to the life of local people.

I think there has been a lot of criticism of Rio, but this is not helpful. We are talking about a poor country here. We are sitting in the west watching on TV eating crisps and making our demands. Yes some things could have been done better but sitting here bitching about it isn't going to help.

Actually, I do think criticising the lack of water along the marathon is fair.
Nobody wants athletes passing out.

Glad someone thinks refusing to share buses, shake hands or compete against people from a particular country is 'understandable' I see it as racism but there you go

I just wish ALL the television channels would not show the Olympics so viewers who are not interested could have some viewing choice (without having to pay for Sky!) The television news coverage is also full of it so other world news is not being reported.

Rio may be having their problems but have you actually been watching the Olympics because it's been brilliant. The coming together of countries to celebrate the worlds greatest athletes. I think it's a brilliant tradition and one we should continue.
Unfortunately, the more they give the more you want. London was exceptional because it's a rich country. Should we attack Brazil for not being better? No! We should accept their faults, be more forgiving and move on.
It is however unfortunate that certain countries have brought their politics to the games.

I haven't read this whole thread as quite frankly it's not a massive issue in the grand scheme of things. I like to watch the games to support the athletes who have trained morning, noon and night, making huge sacrifices to compete and enjoy seeing them succeed. I don't watch the games to get my knickers in a twist over a few empty seats or an opening ceremony that wasn't to my taste.

I'm loving these Olympics. I haven't been watching the crowd sitting there (or not), just the amazing athletes.

Pennwood

I'm watching tv at the moment (Freeview) and out of all the channels on there, TWO are showing the Olympics