IOC official: Rio's Olympics preparations are 'the worst I have experienced'
Mario Tama/Getty Images

In what is giving us shades of PTSD from the ill-prepared Winter Olympics in Sochi, the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday that the construction work for the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro is just short of a full-on disaster.
John Coates, the IOC's vice president, said Rio's grounds are "the worst I have experienced" and that the prep is behind "in many, many ways" — even more so than Athens was in 2004. To help soothe delayed construction problems in the troubled country, the IOC has begun embedding experts in the host city to help completion.
Despite the public lashing, the IOC isn't planning to relocate the upcoming games elsewhere (that would likely be a logistical nightmare).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"The IOC has adopted a more hands-on role," said Coates at an Olympics forum in Sydney. "It is unprecedented for the IOC, but there is no plan B. We are going to Rio."

Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.