Athletes in Rio are competing in front of empty seats while their audience is stuck in line

Long lines in Rio
(Image credit: Martin Bernetti/Getty Images)

Organizers of the Olympic Games in Rio have been forced to apologize to fans trapped outside stadiums Saturday by long lines caused by security chokepoints. Telecasts showed athletes competing in half-empty venues while their would-be audience sweltered outside in 90 degree heat and stood in 20-minute lines to buy water.

"I don't believe it. It's absurd, ridiculous," said Natalia Carvalho, a Rio native who missed key performances while stuck in line. "It's a lack of respect for the fan that bought tickets. It's a shame."

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Bonnie Kristian

Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.