Running on fear: the threats that could ruin Rio’s Olympic dream

When Hong Kong swimmer Stephanie Au Hoi-shun leads the city’s athletes into Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana Stadium on Friday for the lighting of the Olympic cauldron, the whole world will be watching to see if Brazil can pull off South America’s first-ever Games.

While the atmosphere in Rio has been festive on the surface, behind the scenes the Brazilian state has been scrambling to manage fears about public security threats, concerns over the Zika virus, complaints about the readiness of infrastructure, as well as financial and political instability.

The slogan of the Games, emblazoned on the entrances of Olympics venues across Rio, may pronounce it is “A New World”, but there are those who would suggest that status has not yet been achieved.

“Rio de Janeiro is confronted with its most serious public security challenge in a decade. The federal government is paralysed by the worst political and financial crisis in the country’s history,” Dr Robert Muggah, research director at Rio-based security and development think tank Igarapé Institute, said.

“The state government is cash-strapped, having recently declared a state of public calamity in order to release hundreds of millions of dollars to keep services running and salaries – including those of the military and civilian police – paid.”

It is against this backdrop that 38 athletes from Hong Kong will be competing in eight sports – swimming, athletics, badminton, cycling, fencing, rowing, sailing and table tennis – during the 17-day sporting spectacular.They will be aiming to better Hong Kong’s result from the 2012 London Olympics, when cyclist Sarah Lee Wai-sze clinched a bronze in keirin. Team China, meanwhile, will have 416 athletes competing in its largest overseas delegation in the history of the Games.

As Rio opens its door to the expected 500,000 tourists and 10,000 athletes from around the world, it is caught in what has been described as the “perfect storm” since winning the bid to host the Games in 2009.