With little over a week to go before the opening ceremony for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the much-maligned Games have suffered yet another setback. It has emerged that the Olympic Village, constructed for Olympic and Paralympic athletes to reside in for the duration of the games, is unfit to be inhabited.
In a written statement, Team Australia’s Chef de Mission, Kitty Chiller, said "Problems include blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors in need of a massive clean”
Chiller mentioned that Australia were not the only team that found this an issue. In the statement, she mentioned “….Team GB, New Zealand and others are experiencing the same problems in their accommodation.”
It emerged following stress tests on the accommodation that there were short circuits, serious gas leakages, and the team were said to have found a number of short circuits in the wiring.
Teams have moved into hotels near the Olympic Village, while the IOC have commissioned a stress test of their own to assess conditions at the venue. This is said to include, as per a release, “all floors, all rooms, all fixtures, sinks, showers and toilets. As well as fire alarms, lighting in stairwells and exits.”
The International Olympic Committee, the Rio Organizing Committee, and National Olympic organizations are all said to be collaborating to solve the issues to ensure athletes are able to move back into the Olympic village ahead of the opening ceremony.
