Power Cuts in 2016 Olympic Inaugural Venue of Rio de Janeiro

Electricity has been cut off at the track and field events venue of 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics since January 4. Retaliatory blaming has been exchanged between Rio’s city government and soccer club Botafogo centering unpaid utility bill which has eventually caused seizure in power supply.

Beside hurdles on resumption of power supply, a number of concerns have been looming over the upcoming Olympic Games scheduled to get inaugurated in Rio. According to reports published in several local news media, Olympic athletes are almost certain to come into contact with disease-causing viruses through the water. Some tests have confirmed presence of such disease causing viruses up to 1.7 million times than the considerable hazardous limit.

The outstanding power bills stand in total 1m Reals ($250,000) while representing two months of missed payments. Electricity has been out at the arena since January 4 and water for more than a month.

The Olympic Games, 2016 are already some $520 million over budget mainly due to inflationary pressure and this leads Brazil authority to adopt cut off measures. This appears to be the latest blow in the Olympic village since authorities have reportedly decided to force the athletes paying for their own air conditioning and television bills. Major power supplier’s pulling back out of the event preparations suggests that athletes may even run out of power – at least literally.

Brazil’s worsening budget deficit indicates the government’s unwillingness to foot the bill in excess of the Rio organizers’ budget. Organizers are capable of spending only the estimate budget in line with earnings from sponsorships, ticket sale, and a grant from the International Olympic Committee, as apparently instructed by the Brazil government.

Longtime Olympic power provider Aggreko has pulled out of a tender to supply generators for the games in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympic Games. The organizers are witnessed to rush for securing an alternative energy source for the world's largest sporting event.

Interruptions in coverage means lost ad impressions and if advertisers and sponsors get concerned that Brazil will ultimately fail to ensure in-time delivery, they may reconsider their contracts. After all, no one find interest enjoying an opening ceremony where the only light is the Olympic torch.

The stadium is the home ground of Botafogo football, which has been reported to assume responsibility for meeting the costs of running the stadium including all sorts of utility bills. However, the club has returned management of the stadium arena to Brazil's government during January while preparations go under way for the Olympics.