Future Arena, the handball venue, will be taken apart and the pieces used to build four schools around the city, each serving 500 students. [...]

the city will turn the aquatics stadium into two community swimming centers; the media center will become a high school dorm; and the 300 acres of land on which Barra Olympic Park currently sits will go be turned over for public parks and private development. — grist.org

Special traffic regulations giving priority to athletes and VIP visitors to the Rio 2016 games have caused 20km (12.5 mile) traffic jams in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, days ahead of the opening ceremony.

Since the new dedicated Olympic lanes opened on Monday, traffic during the morning rush hour has been reduced to a crawl with average speeds of less than 15 km per hour, according to O Globo. — the Guardian

Sunday was supposed to be move-in day for many athletes, but the leader of the Australian Olympic delegation said its athletes would not be checking in because of problems with the gas, electricity and plumbing. [...]

delegations from Britain, New Zealand and other countries were experiencing similar problems in the village, which is in an area of western Rio called Barra da Tijuca. — nytimes.com

“This is a missed opportunity,” Paes acknowledged. “We are not showcasing ourselves. With all these economic and political crises, with all these scandals, it is not the best moment to be in the eyes of the world. This is bad.”

But he also believes the problems are exaggerated by the press in a way that unfairly portrays Rio to the outside world...“There has never been so much transformation for poor people [in Rio]...The Olympic Games are a great inspiration to get things done.” — The Guardian

For decades, state neglect forced a pace of progress that was slow and painful in Rio’s favelas, which – unlike many other informal settlements around the world – have a largely stable population. While some residents express satisfaction that state involvement has brought new income streams and improved security, there is anger that changes are imposed from outside, without consultation with residents. — the Guardian

Scientists can disagree on how much the mass migration of 500,000 foreigners will accelerate the virus’s global spread and make the pandemic worse—but none can possibly argue that it will slow it down or make things better. [...]

“Olympism seeks to create … social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles”. [...] But for the Games, would anyone recommend sending an extra half a million visitors into Brazil right now? — harvardpublichealthreview.org

Eleven people died while working on Olympic facilities or Games-related projects between January 2013 and March 2016, according to a report released Monday by Rio de Janeiro's Regional Labor and Employment Office.

The report, released by Elaine Castilho, the auditor for the Rio Olympic Games works, also notes that no workers died in the preparations for the 2012 Summer Games in London. — ESPN

International sports federations expressed concern Tuesday over problems with venues for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, including power failures at the gymnastics arena this week.

Members of the Association of Olympic International Sports Federations reviewed preparations for the Rio Games, which open in less than four months on Aug. 5.

"They miss some very important details in each field of play," ASOIF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said at the group's annual meeting. — cbc.ca

For Brazil’s economy, the near future probably features a period of stagnation, as a government paralyzed by political crisis dodges the tough choices created by strong inflation, rising budget deficits and, at best, a touch of economic growth in 2017 after hitting rock bottom in 2016. [...]

Demonstrators have turned out in numbers larger than in 1984 — when Brazilians of all stripes united to throw off military rule— to demand [President] Rousseff’s ouster — ibtimes.com

The city of Rio de Janeiro canceled the construction contract for the Olympic tennis center on Thursday, just 200 days before the start of the games, fining the consortium responsible for delays and breach of contract for the mostly finished venue. [...]

Rio City Hall, which is responsible for the construction, did not say how the tennis center, which is 90-percent complete, will be finished. — reuters.com

Brazilian police investigating corruption around the state-run oil firm Petrobras also plan to investigate more than $10bn of construction contracts for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, according to a lead investigator on the case.

Some of the big engineering companies caught up in the Petrobras inquiry “very probably” broke laws against price-fixing and bribery on contracts to build Olympic venues, said Igor Romario, a federal police chief and key figure in the investigation. — The Guardian

'When these [2007 Pan Am] venues were built the government told Brazilians that these would be Olympic-ready, and there would be a rather smooth and efficient transition to eventually hosting the Olympics,' explained Rio-based reporter Taylor Barnes...'But, these venues have instead had some pretty checkered after-lives.' — pri.org

"They should be stimulating residential projects both for richer and poorer people, to make this a mixed area, and not another neighbourhood for privileged Brazilians." - president of the Brazilian Institute of Architecture in Rio, Pedro da Luz — BBC News