The International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission meets in Rio as preparations one year before the Games enter the operational stage.
SHOWS:
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (FILE - 2015) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
1. AERIAL OF OLYMPIC PARK IN CONSTRUCTION
2. STADIUM UNDER CONSTRUCTION
3. CONSTRUCTION IN INTERIOR OF STADIUM
4. SPARKS FLYING AS A WORKER CUTS METAL
5. VARIOUS AERIALS OF DEODORO OLYMPIC PARK
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (AUGUST 10, 2015) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
6. INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE (IOC) COORDINATION COMMISSION IN PROGRESS
7. IOC MEMBERS DURING MEETING
8. IOC VICE-PRESIDENT AND COORDINATION COMMISSION CHAIRPERSON, NAWAL EL MOUTAKAWEL, SPEAKING
9. RIO MAYOR, EDUARDO PAES, DURING MEETING
10. HEAD TABLE DURING MEETING
11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOC VICE-PRESIDENT AND COORDINATION COMMISSION CHAIRPERSON, NAWAL EL MOUTAKAWEL, SAYING:
"You are on the right track, you have achieved great success with your marketing programme which has brought some of the finest companies in Brazil to support the Olympic Games. You are delivering the venues on time for the different test events. These venues will be a great legacy to future generations here in this wonderful country."
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
12. VIEW OF SEA AND SUGARLOAF MOUNTAIN FROM COPACABANA BEACH
13. ATHLETES SWIMMING IN TRIATHLON TEST EVENT
14. DIGITAL CLOCK INSTALLED OVER TRACK
15. SPEED CAMERA FACING TOWARDS TRACK
16. VARIOUS OF VOLLEYBALL TEST EVENT
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (AUGUST 10, 2015) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
17. (SOUNDBITE) (English) IOC VICE-PRESIDENT AND COORDINATION COMMISSION CHAIRPERSON, NAWAL EL MOUTAKAWEL, SAYING:
"Like any team preparing for the Olympic Games, the more you practice with your teammates, the better the team will perform. This is why it is a great pleasure for me today to have all of you around this table. These meetings are fruitful, these meetings are important. We deeply appreciate your presence; we deeply appreciate your dedication and your hard work. These are taking more importance as we are now entering the last stage of Games preparation, the operational stage."
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
18. DEODORO EQUESTRIAN VENUE
19. ATHLETES RIDING HORSES AT DEODORO
20. CROSS COUNTRY EQUESTRIAN PARK
21. VARIOUS OF HORSE JUMPS MOUNTED IN PONDS
STORY: Preparations for the Rio Games are entering what International Olympic Committee Vice-President Nawal El Moutawakel called the "operational stage" as she chaired the opening of the committee's Coordination Commission in Rio de Janeiro on Monday (August 10).
The IOC held a countdown ceremony on Wednesday last week, marking one year to the Games, as test events take off around the city and venues are handed over.
"You are on the right track, you have achieved great success with your marketing programme which has brought some of the finest companies in Brazil to support the Olympic Games. You are delivering the venues on time for the different test events. These venues will be a great legacy to future generations here in this wonderful country," El Moutakawel said on Monday as chairperson of the Coordination Commission.
The Olympic village is 84 percent complete, and the swimming pool, media centre and the three arenas that will host six indoor events are all more than two-thirds ready, according to numbers released by the Foreign Ministry.
Among the venues where most work is needed are the velodrome and the hockey pitches, which are only half-way completed.
Work on temporary venues for the rugby and beach volleyball is still to begin, as are final alterations to the track and field stadium and the Maracana, where the opening and closing ceremonies and the soccer finals will take place.
The Triathlon course beginning at Copacabana beach was tested amid concerns over water quality after privately commissioned tests in July revealed a high level of disease-causing viruses. Athletes downplayed concerns and the IOC stressed that adequate conditions for athletes would be its priority.
As preparation time is narrowing, El Moutawakel, who won gold in the 400-metre (1312-foot) hurdles in 1984, brought the psyche of the athlete to the meeting.
"Like any team preparing for the Olympic Games, the more you practice with your team mates, the better the team will perform. This is why it is a great pleasure for me today to have all of you around this table. These meetings are fruitful, these meetings are important. We deeply appreciate your presence; we deeply appreciate your dedication and your hard work. These are taking more importance as we are now entering the last stage of Games preparation, the operational stage," said El Moutawakel.
