Rio 2016: With just days to go, Brazil still not ready for the Olympics

Less than a week to go, still working on a Golf Course
After seven years, almost $US12 billion, a litany of problems and with just a few days to go, Rio is still not ready to hold the biggest games on Earth. The weekend collapse of the main access ramp at Marina da Gloria, the Olympic sailing venue, was symbolic.

There is a slump in mood and expectations ahead of Friday's opening ceremony.
Previous Olympiads have faced budget blowouts, delays and mistakes, so Rio is not alone.

 But this one might just win the gold medal. International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach said every Olympics faced challenges, and has reassured the world that Rio will be ready.
But serious questions are again being asked about construction quality and safety.

"There is a tendency in Brazil to leave a lot for the last minute, to improvise and 'just' get things done,'' Professor Ricardo Teixeira, a marketing specialist, said. Jose Cabral Gomes is one Brazilian who is worried about all the last-minute improvising.

He controlled the traffic flow on the huge construction site of Rio's newest metro station.
It is part of the much-anticipated Line 4 subway - a key legacy project.

It is expected to cope with many thousands of travellers daily during the Games, and benefit 20,000 local residents. But on the cloudy mornings of early July, concrete mixers and other trucks were still buzzing in and out of the site bringing in construction materials and taking away excavated waste.

The station was originally scheduled to open on July 1 after a year of rigorous system testing.
The station is now partially open, with spectators allowed to ride on the day the Games begin.

Source: A freelance correspondent Adriana Brasileiro in Rio de Janeiro 

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