Brazilian activists raise a stink about sewage in Rio’s ‘Olympic’ bay

Activists alleging decades of neglect and the repeated failure of authorities to make good on clean up promises have effectively killed one of Rio de Janeiro’s most iconic waterways staged a protest on Saturday.

The protesters held a symbolic “burial of Guanabara Bay, the sewage-filled waters where Olympic sailing competitions are to be held.

The demonstration was held on one of the city’s most polluted beaches, Botagofo, which is enveloped in a sulphuric stench, dotted by household rubbish and looks out over the iconic Sugarloaf Mountain.

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Protesters placed a rubbish-filled mock coffin on the fetid sands, which they draped with black cloth.

The event’s organiser, biologist Mario Moscatelli, said it was among the last-ditch efforts to force state authorities to keep their promise of cleaning up the bay before the August Games.

“This is an environmental crime,” said Moscatelli, wearing chest-high rubber overalls and industrial goggles as he waded out into the dark waters to pluck out floating rubbish.

“If this is happening here, at the picture postcard symbol of Rio, imagine what’s happening in the interior of the country.”