Rio Olympic Officials Admit More Than Half Of Athletes Village Is Unfinished

With less than two weeks remaining until the 2016 Summer Olympics begin, officials on the ground in Rio are admitting how woefully behind preparations for the event are. On Monday, the Rio 2016 organizing committee acknowledged that 19 of the 31 buildings in the Athletes Village had yet to even pass safety tests. That news comes despite the fact that about 10 percent of the competitors are already in Brazil.

Over the weekend we heard horror stories from members of the Australian team’s first encounter with their accommodations. Everything is a mess in the Athletes Village, from broken elevators and flooded floors to mold everywhere and holes in ceilings. The Australian delegation was so offended by the conditions that it temporarily moved its athletes elsewhere.

Stress tests on the buildings aren’t even halfway complete because construction finished woefully behind schedule. That type of test should be completed months in advance and has yet to take place. Meanwhile, the water, gas and electric systems for the buildings were only recently put online.

On Saturday a small fire broke out in the building housing the Dutch team. A short circuit in a fuse box started the blaze which was quickly put out, but the dangers remain. Gas leaks also continue to be a problem throughout the village and, on a far less dangerous note, toilets are constantly backed up.

This big issue could come to a head next week, because there simply isn’t enough hotel space in Rio to operate as a backup if the Athletes Village isn’t finished.

Rio 2016 organizers say 630 workers have been deployed to fix the problems, and they claim everything should be fine by Thursday. You’ll forgive me if I’m a bit skeptical.

Around 10,000 athletes should be moved in to the Athletes Village by the time of the opening ceremony on August 5. That’s just 11 days away. Unless Rio’s organizers ramp things up in a hurry, the housing situation could get out of control quickly.