Global Girl

Global Girl Endorses Rio’s Candidacy for 2016 Olympics! Go Rio2016!

I grew up in Atlanta, GA, which hosted the 1996 Olympic Games, and so I saw first hand the transition that Atlanta experienced with all the opportunities, development due to hosting the Olympics. Atlanta grew both economically and in size, which has made people call it the “New York of the South.” Atlanta marked itself on the map.

So for Rio de Janeiro, I really wish the city this same opportunity (maybe not the growth in population, since Rio is already huge!). I do have my fears that an Olympics in Rio could encourage the government to instate make-shift harmful policies in order to get the city ready for the games: The main concern would be removing chunks of residents and moving them out to the outskirts of Rio. Honestly, this did happen in Atlanta during its Olympic Games: All the housing projects around the “Olympic Stadium,” which is now Turner Field, were destroyed and those residents were relocated to West Atlanta.

There is a post about the potential downfalls of Rio’s Olympic Games: “Olimpíadas 2016 no Rio de Janeiro. A cidade ganha um presente ou um abacaxi?”See it here (in Portuguese).

But I believe that we can fight the fight one step at a time, first let’s get the games in Rio! It would be the first time that the Olympics would be in South America, and let’s admit South America deserves a chance! (Much more than Chicago or Madrid. Global Girl supports Rio’s 2016 bid. The decision will be announced in October, so we have a month left to spread the word. See the official Rio2016 video:

The Olympics need to be in the Cidade Maravilhosa!

(Thanks to the blog Rio Temporada for posting the video and “tweeting” it!)