Sports Minister: Rio 2016 security personnel largest ever for Brazil event

Sports Minister Leonardo Picciani said Brazil has adopted appropriate security protocols for staging the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and that the security personnel used at the Games will be the largest ever for a major event in the country. According to him, the security forces will consist of 88,000 men.

“We have worked to stage the Olympic Games to the highest security standards, and the Games in Rio de Janeiro will be safe,” the minister said at the Olympic Park on Monday (Aug. 1st).

The Ministry of Sports has provided the Ministry of Defense with over $23.7 million to meet part of the security operation costs.

He has also said that Brazilians who live with diverse racial and religious backgrounds must give the world not only “an open-arms hospitality message from Brazil, but one of world peace and tolerance.”

Refugees' choir

In the Athletes' Village, Leonardo Picciani watched a performance by the Coração Jolie Chidren's Choir sponsored by IKMR (I Know My Rights) NGO and supported by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Brazil. It is made up by children from seven different nationalities.

A Truce Mural for Village guests to sign and share messages in the spirit of the Olympic Truce was also unveiled during the event. The Olympic Truce is a tradition that dates back to the 9th century BC in ancient Greece, when a treaty was signed by three kings to allow people to travel to watch the Olympic Games and return to their homes safely.

Translated by Mayra Borges