Brazil 'learning from the Olympics'

13/08/2012

Brazil is set to host the Football World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016 so with all eyes on the country, it's keen to do a good job in order to boost its economic profile.

To help deliver a smooth event, the country has kept a close eye on London over the past few weeks to see what it can learn from the Olympic Games.

Brazil's vice minister for sport, Luis Fernandes, told the BBC that he was impressed with what he saw in London but noted that he had also spotted some mistakes to avoid.

“First of all, the UK has done an absolutely fantastic job in organising a very complex endeavour,” he observed. “At the same time there were some problems, and it is very important that we learn from them.”

The main problem he noted was the issue with G4S, the security firm that had been contracted to cover most of the Olympics. The company failed to deliver in a number of areas, which forced the UK government to rope in the armed forces to cover the Games.

Mr Fernandes added: “This last-minute change was obviously not ideal, so in Brazil we are now much more aware of the need to get the right balance of armed forces, private security people and stewards in 2016.”