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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think Rio has been shocking

283 replies

pleasemothermay1 · 13/08/2016 09:21

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

OP posts:
NeedAScarfForMyGiraffe · 14/08/2016 16:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FuturesAChanging · 14/08/2016 16:19

I like the olympics.
I liked the opening ceremony, for its message especially about the flame and fuel. I also liked the Beijing opening ceremony just for its scale of people power.
I think in the UK, we could all justify travelling from anywhere in the country to go. But in Brazil, I'm guessing a lot of people can't afford to take a day off work as holiday/unpaid and then pay for a ticket.
I like the olympics full stop.

emotionsecho · 14/08/2016 16:29

I like the look of the little 'thing' they are giving with the medals I'd like to see a close up of it, I think it's preferable to flowers which won't last.

manicinsomniac · 14/08/2016 16:38

Just thought of one other thing which might put audiences off (maybe not, just something I've noticed) - an awful lot of the live commentary/announcements seems to be in English. I know there's a lot of tourists there but, if I was a Brazilian, it might annoy me. It's been especially obvious with the tennis. The umpire has been asking people to sit down and be quiet in English about 3 times before getting frustrated at the (obvious, you would think!) lack of response and saying it in Portuguese! Grin

Lua · 14/08/2016 16:38

YABU!

The whole point of giving an Olympics to South America was to challenge the view that only first world can hold the Olympics, to bring it closer to people that think is a first world thing only, and to inspire people that have to overcome difficulties.

I think given the smaller amount of money available and all the recent political upheaval they re doing great! Is olympics only good if luxurious and lavish? I do not think this is the spirit.

With regards to empty seats, organization, etc. London had the same criticisms....

Puzzledandpissedoff · 14/08/2016 16:39

Personally I'd like to see everyone paying towards a permanent Olympic site, somewhere politically stable and with a climate which would avoid extremes for the athletes. I realize it wouldn't be simple, but with real will it could be worked out, and would avoid another nation facing a colossal bill every few years

For obvious historical reasons my first choice would have been Greece, except for the mess they made of planning for their last one ... like I said, it's not simple!!

LunaLoveg00d · 14/08/2016 16:45

what those multicoloured -bits of plastic tat- thing is that each winner receives after they have been awarded their medal?

I think they're the Rio 2016 logo. Instead of flowers.

iKeepDancingintheDark · 14/08/2016 16:47

I too want to know what The Thing is.

There's no reason this should have anything to do with parenting.

On MN, posters' grammar is often corrected and I for one quite like it.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 14/08/2016 16:54

According to this you're right, Luna ...

www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/news/a39896/olympic-medalist-no-flowers-sculpture/

MumOnTheRunCatchingUp · 14/08/2016 16:59

So op why aren't you and your family there filling up some of those empty seats?.... Oh, wait..

Heidi42 · 14/08/2016 17:00

I think G4S not getting their act together was a red herring to enable the armed forces to do the job to ensure the games went ahead as safely as possible...... as it did .As for Rio well words fail me the pools are full of algae, the athletes villages have been filthy,unfinished, unusable and thieves have been in operation. The GB team had to employ a firm of plumbers to finish off the work on their appartments bc they were not fit for purpose. The opening ceremony was boring. Coverage of the road cycling was abominable, you could not see the cyclists falls and whether they were ok or not. The coverage of the gymnastics was rubbish bc we did not see all of the GB team performances . All in all a pretty poor show , Tokyo will be totally different and I am so looking forward to it .

manicinsomniac · 14/08/2016 17:09

I would be very interested to see pictures of the apartments that weren't fit for purpose Heidi I heard it was electricians that were brought in not plumber as wires were exposed. But what wasn't reported is that being able to see the wires in light fittings in Brazil is normal - perhaps not in affluent homes but in ordinary ones and below. I was slightly disconcerted to find the hot water function of a shower seemingly sharing the same set of exposed wiring as the bathroom light in one orphanage I've stayed in a few times. It probably just looked that way though because there's never been a problem. The plumbing is also weaker. In all but the nicest places, you need to put toilet paper in a bin next to the toilet in Brazil rather than flush it as the drains can't cope. These things are not big issues in Brazil. If those were the complaints the athletes had then, imo, they should have sucked it up as just a difference in being in another place. Or got it corrected as they did but not made a 'thing' of it. There's no actual reason why the athletes should have been provided with better temporary accommodation than the majority of the locals' permanent housing.

squoosh · 14/08/2016 17:12

The only Irish medal winners so far, the O'Donovan brothers, have raved about the accommodation and the grub provided! They were most enthusiastic about the steak that's available for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

NeedAScarfForMyGiraffe · 14/08/2016 17:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

NoahVale · 14/08/2016 17:18

dh, watching Golf, just informed me there was a crocodile or alligator in the water where they were playing golf Grin

MiaowTheCat · 14/08/2016 17:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Heidi42 · 14/08/2016 17:23

You only have to google it to see it for yourself Manic and yes they bought plumbers in as well as electricians . This is nothing to do with our team being primadonnas and everything to do with them being looked after and respected as a visiting team should be .

panegyricS1 · 14/08/2016 17:24

I can see why the residents of Brazil are unhappy about the money spent on this, when there are so many struggling folk in the country. However, I don't want a situation whereby only the very richest countries can bid for the games. It's a difficult one. When premier athletes have to take to Twitter to generate interest in the world's biggest sporting event after the football World Cup, there's undoubtedly a problem.

manicinsomniac · 14/08/2016 17:33

I don't think so, Heidi I've just google image searched 'athletes village Rio' and 'athletes Rio village unacceptable' and there's nothing bad within the first couple of hundred images on my computer. One lead to a story about the Australian team refusing to move into accommodation that looks like a perfectly normal Brazilian bedroom and bathroom and a picture of a flooded room that turns out to be Sochi 2014 but not much else.

Heidi42 · 14/08/2016 17:40

People won't go to Brazil bc it is too dangerous, the locals cannot afford to buy the tickets so we just have to suck it up and watch the inferior coverage on the tv. As for allowing the third world country equal opportunity to host the games , yes I agree but Rio needed more money, more input and more time . Nevermind Tokyo will be amazing of that I have no doubt.

Heidi42 · 14/08/2016 17:41

Try Instagram Manic

Lweji · 14/08/2016 17:44

I could only find that they took plumbers just in case.

It seems that the Australians did only move later after teething problems. But were housed in nearby hotels.

And yes, standards in Brazil are somewhat different. Unless it's way upmarket.

And the food is great. Picanha is heaven. Plus they do all sorts of fantastic salads and fruits. They have these "restaurants" where you select from a wide range buffet and then weigh your food. The good ones have an excellent range, including vegetarian.

manicinsomniac · 14/08/2016 17:48

do you know which athletes posted them Heidi ? I've tried a random few but they haven't and it wouldn't let me search for athletes village instead of a person. I'm a bit of a technophobe!

Lweji · 14/08/2016 17:49

As for allowing the third world country equal opportunity

Brazil is NOT third world, BTW.

www.quora.com/Why-is-Brazil-not-a-first-world-country

Certainly not on a par with most countries that have hosted the Olympics so far, but it was a rising economy when they were granted the Olympics. Facing some major problems in the last couple of years, though, and it has certainly been reflected on these games.
Still, I think it has been a good shot considering the country and the timing.

Lweji · 14/08/2016 17:55

It seems the complaints by the Australia team were 12 days before the start.
www.sfgate.com/olympics/article/Olympic-Village-problems-disasters-Rio-athletes-8405813.php

Also, somehow I found this funny among the list of complaints:
"a dismembered body washed up on the popular beach that will soon host beach volleyball events"

My experience of Brazil is that sometimes it can be great, but other times it's a struggle to work with them.