Magazine N°148

BRAZIL OLYMPICS UNDER HIGH SURVEILLANCE

Next August, Rio de Janeiro and, far beyond, Brazil as a whole will shine under the lights of the XXXI Olympiad of the modern era. But after the cheers, the podiums and the medals; after the lights go out and the seven million expected spectators return home, what will be left of the buildings and the colossal investments made for the occasion?

One thing is certain: Rio did not blindly embark on a purely lavish adventure, learning from the setbacks experienced by other cities before it. As a result, the city spent only 12 billion euros on the event, which was very "reasonable", perhaps even less, compared with 33 billion for Beijing and 45 billion for Sochi. All the more so as Brazil, the world's seventh-largest economy, has entered a recession for the first time in 20 years, against a backdrop of political scandal.

In the meantime, and without going through a complete transformation, the city has revisited at least four of its districts, some of which, like the old port, had become almost lawless zones over the years. But it is some twenty kilometres from the picture-postcard Rio, in Barra da Tijuca, where most of the Olympic events will take place, that the intervention is most spectacular.

Before that, there was the Riocentro convention centre and the headquarters of the oil companies, but all things considered, that's about it. After that, there will be shopping centres, hotels, leisure facilities and housing reclaimed from the Olympic Village. All linked by roads, motorways and underground and bus lines that didn't exist before. Then there is security, which is not the least of Brazil's concerns and which, for these Games, has become a major part of the organisational set-up.

From a violent attack in the street to a terrorist attack, everything has been taken into account: acquisition of protective equipment, logistical support from foreign forces, anti-aircraft defence, 3,500 surveillance cameras, drones banned from flying over the Olympic Village, prevention of cyber-attacks, tightly controlled access to sports facilities, etc. As you can see, nothing seems to have been left to chance. And while this hyper-security deployment might have made people smile, not to say angry, a few months ago, we can be quite certain that today, and we know why, it will win everyone's approval. Nationally and internationally.

Serge Barret, Editor-in-Chief
In this issue

Travel diary Alexandre Arcady: a life story
NEWS aircraft, railways, hotels, meetings/businesses, cruises, throughout the world
TECHNOLOGIES : nomadic networking
NOMADE - Digital shopping
AIR - Low cost the hybrid revolution
HOTELS - Budget hotels budget-conscious and cosy chic
BUSINESS DISTRICT Sydney CBD, the theory of evolution
BUSINESS DESTINATION : BRAZIL
EMERGING DESTINATION ASEAN: South-East Asia, the lure of union
INCENTIVE :
Wide Angle In Las Vegas, there's no reason why the night can't go on
Chronicle Cyprus, the rising sun
Theme Lisbon, a new river novel
INQUIRY - Rail the way is clear for mobile solutions
MANAGEMENT
Collaborative economy the new entrants who are shaking things up
Self booking tools Time for global solutions
DECIDEUR Christophe Peymirat, Egencia