Olympic athletes at Rio Games will have to pay for air conditioning
Athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will have to pay for air conditioning in their bedrooms due to budget cuts, reports the Associated Press.
“We don't think it’s going to be critical (to have air conditioning) there,” said Rio 2016 spokesman Mario Andrada.
Andrada said in an interview with the Associated Press that organizers believe up to 2 billion reals ($520 million) needs to be cut to balance the operating budget of 7.4 billion reals ($1.9 billion).The operating budget includes the costs for running the games, along with income from the IOC, marketing, tickets sales and local sponsorship sales.
The Games will be during the winter in South America, but temperatures could still be warm. The average temperature in Rio de Janeiro for the month of August is 22° C (71° F).
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Andrada added that national federations will possibly pay for some athletes to have air conditioning, but it’s unknown if poorer federations will be able to assist their athletes with the additional costs.
In 2009, Rio de Janeiro officially won hosting rights for the 2016 Summer Olympics. But the country's preparations for the games have been closely scrutinized, as Brazil has spent more than $20 billion to organize last year's World Cup and next year's Olympics.
The 2016 Olympic Games will begin on Aug. 5.
