The build-up to every Olympics that I remember, have always
been filled with doubts and controversies, mostly revolving around whether the
host would be ready in time.
Rio 2016 certainly have its share of doubts and controversies. The economic and
political climate is significantly different than when Rio won the right to
host the Olympics; the country is in recession and a severe political crisis
with the upcoming impeachment trial of president Dilma Rouseff. Could the Rio 2016 Olympics be successful?
With this backdrop, the were more doubts than usual about
the preparedness of Rio for the games and many Brazilians didn’t want the
games, at best you could say that people were apathetic towards the games. Over time, the controversies mounted: the
zika virus, the killing of a jaguar, the harassment of a rare river dolphin,
police going unpaid in the city, pollution in Guanabara Bay (the location of
the sailing events) and the constant threat of violence and crimes.
The foreign media were filled with doom and gloom any time
the Olympics were mentioned, the people in Brazil didn’t seem to show any
interest, it was only in the constant advertisements for SporTV’s coverage that
I saw any enthusiasm! But things changed
once the games began. The football started
before the opening ceremony and people started to take note – football is,
after all, the most popular sport in the country! Then came the opening ceremony, impressing
most with beautiful depictions of the native Indians, the arrival of European, Middle
Eastern and Japanese immigrants and moving on to the musical cultures of
Brazil. The event didn’t escape
criticism though. The arrival of
European immigrants was represented only by Portuguese, the original colonists,
with no reference to the immigration from Italy, Germany, Poland, Ukraine –
which each had very strong influences on the culture of different parts of
Brazil. There was also a feeling that
other regions were ignored, with a passing reference to the Northeast, but no
mention of the South, Centre or West of the country. Although the games are hosted by one city,
that city is essentially representing the rest of the country – something that
was accomplished very well in the London 2012 opening ceremony (even if some of
the humour might have been lost on people from outside the UK!) Even some residents of Rio de Janeiro
complained that the music only represented the culture of one part of the city!
Despite the criticisms, the majority of Brazilians were
impressed with the opening ceremony and set the attitude for the rest of the
games. From that point, the games were
always on tv at home, in the gym, people were talking about their favourite
sports and players. The female football
team were widely praised for their strong start to the tournament, compared to
the men’s team, who failed to impress in their first two games, with 0-0 draws
against South Africa and Iraq. Sporting
events were filled with excited spectators; even the sports that are not
traditionally popular in Brazil.
The downside were stories in foreign media complaining about
the noise from the fans and booing. In
several events, umpires repeatedly pleaded for quiet from the spectators and
many people complained about Brazilian fans booing, accusing them of bad
sportsmanship. This, however is a
misunderstanding of the culture here. In
Europe and North America, booing is usually seen as bad sportsmanship and
usually happens if a player is seen to have cheated or played unfairly. In Brazil though, it’s part of the event. It is probably traceable to football, as the
most popular sport, where the fans cheer for their team and boo the other team,
in much the same way as they sing songs that mock (and in many cases swear at)
their rivals. This last part isn’t too
different to the football songs I’ve heard elsewhere. But the main thing is that after the event,
they still cheer the other team, even if they beat Brazil. Brazilians tend to be very happy and excitable;
they can be loud, but not aggressive – on the contrary, they are very friendly
and open people, and at times, very emotional!
Don’t let the booing convince you otherwise – it is simply part of
supporting their team.
A good example of this was the men’s football final between
Germany and Brazil. A lot was made of
this match as the 7-1 defeat to Germany in the 2014 world cup semi-final was
still fresh in many people’s minds. During the match, the Brazilian team was
cheered, when Germany had the ball, the fans booed. The atmosphere was tense, there was a lot at
stake and the fans made themselves heard!
But after the match, the Germans were cheered as they applauded the
fans, as they returned to the pitch and as they received their medals. There was no bad sportsmanship in evidence
and no feeling of having “avenged” the world cup defeat; the fans were ecstatic
that Brazil won their first ever gold medal for football! Another example was after the men’s
volleyball final; an Italian player was brought to tears as the crowd chanted “Italia! Italia!”
Personally, I don’t like booing, it doesn’t feel right to
me. But I can recognise that there is a
cultural difference here, so there is no need to condemn it. What did disappoint me, though, was fans
continuing to chant and sing during the German national anthem. To me, that is extremely disrespectful, but
thankfully something that is not common here – I think it was a minority that
did this, although I can’t be certain.
Certainly not enough to tar the entire country with the same brush of
bad sportsmanship.
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| Frevo, a traditional dance from the state of Pernambuco |
Like the opening ceremony, the closing ceremony was by and
large a success. It was another chance
to show off the culture of the country and this time, it went far wider than
Rio. There was a tribute to Carmen
Miranda, Brazilian art, choro, frevo, carnaval music and closing with a Rio
carnaval-style procession. Unlike the
formality of the opening ceremony, the athletes all entered together in any
order, forming small groups and generally mixing up the nationalities. The only thing missing, again, was any
reference to the culture of the South or West of the country. Many arguments broke out across social media
over this topic, with people from the south complaining about the lack of their
culture in the ceremony and others claiming that the Afro-Brazilian culture of
the Northeast is somehow stronger than the more European-influenced culture of
the South – more extreme responses claiming that those criticising the lack of
southern presence were being racist! This
argument is very far-fetched as the majority of people I have spoken to
generally enjoyed the ceremony and displays of Northeastern culture – they
simply hoped to see some representation of the South as well.
As the arguments fade away and Brazil returns to normal
life, the Olympics are rapidly becoming a memory. Brazilians are rightly proud of the
accomplishments of all Brazilian athletes, however football is always foremost
in their minds. Within a day of the
closing ceremony, changes to the national team (seleção) were announced, with
the inclusion of many players from the successful Olympic team, including
Weverton, the goalkeeper from Atlético Paranaense (my Brazilian team), that
saved that crucial penalty. The seleção
will once again have the weight of expectations on their shoulders for the next
international competition.
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| Weverton's save which helped to secure Brazil's win |
It didn’t take long before the international media began to
question whether the Olympics were truly a success. In sporting terms, the athletes were indeed
successful, with several medals won and approximately half the world’s
population actively engaged with media of some kind. But there were criticisms away from the
sports. An article from the BBC cited
muggings, the now infamous Ryan Lochte story and an arrested IOC official
amongst the problems. The latter two can
hardly be blamed on Rio or the organisers, while in the former case, Rio is
known to be a violent city and apart from one high profile incident involving a
Jiu-jitsu champion from New Zealand (just prior to the games), there appear to
have been few reported problems. There
were issues with unsold tickets (the average price for a daily ticket was
equivalent to half a week’s wage for a typical worker from a favela), the
diving pool embarrassingly turned green and long queues slowed down access to
some events, there were transport problems for getting between venues, but the
reality is that major events rarely take place without problems.
The positive effects of hosting the games cannot be ignored. People were introduced to sports that are not
traditionally popular in Brazil or South America and may now be inspired to
have a go, others will be inspired by seeing local athletes win medals and see
that they could do the same – the success in judo will surely lead to an
increase in attendance at judo clubs throughout the country. In addition to the sports, the rest of the
world was introduced to Brazilian culture in a way that is not usually seen
outside of South America. Maybe when
people think about Brazil, they’ll think beyond football, beaches, rainforests
and the zika virus, but remember the various traditional dances, brides-to-be
chanting “BBC, BBC” and a modern country capable of hosting the biggest events
on the world stage. Was Rio 2016 a
success? Despite its problems and
occasional setback, I think that yes, it was a success.
