Construction of Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Village 50 per cent complete

Construction of the apartment complex that will become the Olympic and Paralympic Village for the Rio 2016 Games has passed the 50 per cent completion mark. Based in Barra da Tijuca, in the west zone of Rio de Janeiro, the Village will have capacity for more than 18,000 guests, including athletes and officials. Construction started in July 2012 and the buildings will be finished in the first half of 2016.

“The project is progressing very well and it is exciting to see the Village take shape,” said Rio 2016’s Olympic and Paralympic Village Director, Mario Cilenti. “It is going to be incredible to have the best athletes in the world staying in one place, here in Rio, for the first Olympic and Paralympic Games in South America. We are doing everything to ensure they have the best possible facilities so they can focus all their attention on producing their best performances.” 

Seventeen of the 31 buildings in the complex have already been erected and construction will be completed on the remaining 14 towers by the end of this year, with internal finishings to be done in 2015. The next stage will be installing the ‘overlay’ – the process of transforming a future residential complex into the Olympic Village. These works include the construction of a temporary medical centre, cafeteria with space for 5,000 people and gym, among other amenities.

Another challenge is guaranteeing the complete accessibility of the Village for the Paralympic athletes, who will arrive a few days after the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games on 21 August 2016. The opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games will take place on 7 September 2016.

More so, ticket prices for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games have been announced – and more than half of them will be sold at accessible prices in order to ensure that the event is open to everyone. About 7.5 million tickets will be issued and approximately 3.8 million of these will be available for 70 Brazilian reals (US$30) or less.

There will be tickets for 717 sports sessions, covering all 28 Olympic sports, plus the opening and closing ceremonies. The range of prices is designed to make tickets as affordable as possible, with the goal of ensuring that the local population has the opportunity to attend events. The cheapest ticket will be priced at 40 Brazilian reals (less than US$20).