Tens of thousands of armed troops fanned out across Rio de Janeiro as athletes began to move in for the first Olympics ever in South America.
In the final stretch before the Games start on August 5, more than 60,000 troops took positions across the city, part of an overall contingent of more than 85,000 soldiers, police and other security forces that will be deployed for the event at a time of heightened fears after recent massacres in Germany, France and the US.
Meanwhile, authorities rerouted traffic in Barra de Tijuca, site of many game venues and the Olympic Village, which will house more than 11,000 athletes, coaches and staff.
Olympic organisers are still scrambling to finish everything from a beach volleyball venue to a new subway line, set to open just days before the opening ceremony.
At the village, where lines formed as athletes began checking in, work crews were still making last minute repairs.
The Australian team’s refusal to move into unfinished living accommodations follows local media reports that some team delegations, concerned over similar issues, had sought to hire their own maintenance crews in order to make their quarters suitable.
Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the local organising committee, said organisers are aware of the problems with some rooms, particularly affecting teams from Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.
“There are some electrical issues and some leaks,” he said, noting that a team of about 500 workers is currently addressing the problems. “It’s one of those things with new buildings, but it should not have happened.”
Eduardo Paes, Rio’s outspoken mayor, at a press conference made light of the Australians’ complaints, saying that repairs would be made and that “I am just about to put a kangaroo in front of their building so it can jump and make them feel at home.”
The problems are not unlike those before other big spectacles in Brazil, like the 2014 World Cup, for which stadium crews were still wielding paintbrushes and screwdrivers even minutes before kickoff.
The new subway line, which will connect the popular seaside neighbourhoods of Copacabana and Ipanema to Barra de Tijuca, has suffered repeated delays and is still undergoing tests despite a scheduled inauguration next Saturday.
Even then, the new line will operate only with partial service until after the Olympics.
As many as 500,000 visitors are expected to travel to Brazil for the Games, many of them from the US.
Worries about security, the Zika virus and Brazil’s economic crisis might discourage some travellers and VIP guests and around 28% of Olympic tickets have yet to be sold.
But authorities have left little to chance when it comes to protecting delegations and spectators.
The massive troop deployment, over twice that in place for the 2012 London Olympics, is meant to deter the sort of violence and street crime that are common in Rio, a chaotic metropolis of 12mn people.
Related Story