Olympic marina off to a foul start

With horrifying levels of pollution in the water the picture postcard Olympic marina at Guanabara Bay has been inaugurated just four months ahead of the Rio Games.

Rubbish, waste and worse are visible in the sea and on the nearby downtown Flamengo beach.

“The promise to the population that they would be able to swim in the Guanabara Bay, and that millions of people would be able to use this for their leisure, has unhappily been broken,” said Brazilian yachting federation president, Marco Aurelio, who did however congratulate efforts to improve the facility.

Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes and Brazil’s sports minister Ricardo Leyser were present on Thursday for the official opening. “This is not a failure!” insisted the mayor. “We have depolluted to 60 percent and we have targeted 80 percent,” he said, explaining how $2.5 billion have been spent on a clean up campaign.