High performance commitment looking a solid bet

Brazilian president hopeful Dilma Rousseff, one of the favourites thanks in part to her being the candidate from the same party as popular incumbent President Lula, has made some encouraging comments for Brazilian sport development during a meeting with the Rio 2016 organising committee.

Fortaleza´s castle to be the home of Cup activity

One of Brazil’s most sought after tourist destinations, Fortaleza ('Fortress'), the capital of the north-eastern state of Ceará, is sure to be a popular spot during the 2014 World Cup. Notable for its beaches - there are 15 on the outskirts of the municipality – the city has a population of around 2.5 million, with 3.4 million in the wider metropolitan area. Importantly, Fortaleza´s tight 313km2 means the city has one of the highest population densities in the country at close to 8,000 per km2.

Security centres for each host city

In an update to last week’s report on new security funding released for 2014 Cup preparations, the federal government has added details about a `command centre` that will be established especially for the event.

Rio embarks on long urbanisation process

In a much needed attempt to overcome one of the city’s biggest problems, the Rio city council has launched a massive new push to ‘urbanise’ all of the metropolitan area´s favelas, a term incorporating both slums and shantytowns, by 2020. Significantly, one of the initial aims of the project is to open up new, safe and accessible public spaces, such as parks and sport facilities, in light of short term requirements involving preparations for both the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.

Security spending plan outlined

One of the key concerns for the 2014 Cup is security and the Brazilian authorities are already looking closely at the issue. According to a recent report in Brazil´s top newspaper, Folha de Sao Paulo, the government has committed to spend R$1.6 billion (currently just over AU$1 billion) on a range of Cup-specific investments in the sector, including specialised police equipment and training.

Rio´s Port offering chances for Australian designers

Five new construction projects forming part of Rio´s port area redevelopment, all to be used for the Rio 2016 Olympics, will be the subject of an international design competition set to be promoted over the coming months. The Architecture Institute of Brazil will run the contest, which will require all designs to be ready by February 2011, following which an auction will be held to determine the developers.

The projects involve the media and judges village as well as facilities for IT and non-official media. Further details of the competition will be forwarded as they come to hand.

August a busy month for Australian initiatives involving Brazil 2014 & Rio 2016

The Australian Latin America Business Council (ALABC), Australia Brazil Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), Australian International Sporting Events Secretariat (AISES), Austrade and Industry Capability Network (ICN) have formed an alliance to assist and support Australian businesses target and compete for contracts in Brazil. During August, a number of briefings will be hosted in Sydney (10/8), Melbourne (12/8) and Brisbane (19/8) to discuss business opportunities for Australian companies, all featuring presentations by market and industry experts. More details here.

Airlines starting to worry about airports and the Cup

In a clear warning about the need for quick and decisive action to upgrade Brazil’s airports, the country’s main airline companies have questioned the ability of the federal government’s central airports body to resolve existing infrastructure deficiencies in the near future, let alone have host cities ready on time for the 2014 World Cup.