Last week Brazilian soccer legend Rivaldo was very honest about his feelings toward the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, basically telling travelers to stay home and not attend the event.
The reasons he cited are legitimate, but are they enough to make you stay home?
For the months and years leading up to the event, Brazilian leaders have been doing everything they can to dispel the horrendous press they’re (deservedly) receiving. Everything from sewage-filled waters, violence, and Zika virus have been the cause for concern, and now to top it all off, an impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Brazil is undoubtedly in shambles and now with the scolding remarks of a Brazilian soccer legend (a position Brazilians definitely respect), the country’s leaders are going to have to push even harder. Rivaldo had a 14-year professional soccer career with clubs such as Barcelona and AC Milan, while also making 74 appearances on the Brazilian National Squad. He wrote the below message on Instagram in response to the senseless murder of a 17 year-old girl in Rio de Janeiro for seemingly no reason at all.
My Take
Personally, I tend to stay away from large international gatherings, primarily because I don’t enjoy being “all elbows” for an extended period of time. Additionally, I don’t think some countries are equipped to handle massive crowds of all shapes, sizes, and nationalities so I guess you can say there is a lack of trust there on my part.
With that being said, you have to imagine the security and effort put into keeping visitors safe during the Games is going to be heavy and relentless due, in part, to the extensive international attention and scrutiny this event (and the host country) have been getting. For this reason I think the Olympics will be completely safe for tourists, assuming of course that you follow the rules and be vigilant.
Will you be attending the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio?
(H/T: Skift/AP)
