Friday, August 05, 2016

Let the Games Begin

Tonight, a predicted global audience of 900 million viewers will watch the razzmatazz of the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics.

Between 2009, when Brazil won the right to host the world's biggest sporting extravaganza, and 2015, 22,059 Rio families were resettled for a number of reasons, according to official figures. That number is a conservative estimate.

Vila Autódromo, a favela that had been home to some 900 families, was almost entirely demolished to make room for Barra Olympic Park, a cluster of nine sporting arenas where much of the action will take place. Human rights and advocacy groups, estimate that more like 2,500 families were forced out.

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