Why The Rio 2016 Olympics Are Already A Disaster - Test Tube (NowThis World)

As the days count down to Rio’s Olympic debut next year, many critics have noted that the city still has a high crime rate, high water pollution, 
and many other challenges to face in its preparation work.

So what’s going on in Rio?
Are they really ready to host the Olympics in 2016?
Here’s a Timeline illustrating some of the city’s major issues over the past several years:

[October 2, 2009] 
Rio beats out cities like Tokyo, Madrid and Chicago,
to win the Olympic bid for the 2016 Summer Games.

[October 17, 2009] 
Just two weeks later, GANG Violence in Rio makes international headlines.
A police helicopter is shot down just a mile,
from the future site of the Olympic opening and closing ceremonies.
The Mayor concedes that there is “a long way to go” towards
optimal Security for the Olympics.

[July 6, 2012] 
Construction of the 2016 Olympic park begins.

[June 2013] 
Thousands of people riot through out Brazil, 
over the money being spent on the Olympics, 
and other sporting events, instead of on Public Health Care and Education.

[April 3-17, 2014] 
Over two thousand Olympic venue constructions workers strike for better pay and working conditions, setting the schedule back 2 weeks.

[April 29, 2014] 
The vice-president of the International Olympic Committee says;
slow preparations in Rio are “unprecedented”,
and the “worst that I’ve experienced”.
He claims construction had not commenced on some venues,
& water Pollution was still a serious concern.

[November-December 2014] 
Thousands of dead fish wash up in Guanabara Bay, raising questions about the safety of the water. A month later, researchers in Brazil find drug resistant “Super Bacteria” in Guanabara bay,
where Olympians will be sailing and windsurfing.

[January 2015] 
A wave of GANG Violence leaves 5 dead and 30 injured.
News agencies speculate that increased policing in the area, 
has caused gangs to lash out in a grab for territory.

[February 2015] 
Thousands of dead fish AGAIN turn up in Guanabara Bay, during a visit from the IOC. Rio officials make assurances that all Olympic venues will be
"clean" & "safe" by 2016. The head of the IOC cautions that “the most intense period of preparations” is coming, with test events happening before the Olympic games begin.

With about 500 days to go before the beginning of the Olympic games, 
Rio is feeling the pressure. 
But despite recent Crime & Water Pollution issues,
officials from Rio and the IOC have remained upbeat about the status of Olympic preparations.

@ Julia Wilde