Low-budget 2016 Rio Olympics? Game organizers forced to cut costs by 30 percent with Brazil’s recession

On Tuesday, Rio 2016 organizers announced that they have been forced to make major cutbacks in order to stay within the $1.9 billion budget. Organizers were allegedly constrained to cut estimated costs by as much as 30 percent due to a worsening economy deep in recession.

Brazil is reportedly  knee-deep in a recession, just less than a year out of the 2016 Olympic games. With that, the organizing department revealed that they would rip away some percentage of the operating budget in order to stay within the budget set at about $1.9 billion. 

"This is a very strict budget,'' admitted by Sidney Levy, the organizing committee's chief executive officer. "There'll be no excess, but we are not going to compromise the essentials.'' In fact, Levy has often claimed over the last few months that he will slash down the costs and minimize unnecessary purchases. "The days of lavish spending are over," Mario Andrada, Rio 2016 communications director, also told the BBC.

With a recession in full swing, and no end in sight, the 2016 games could continue to see complications. While Brazil has bigger problems to face, the reach of an economic downturn touches every corner of the country, and the games are no exception. Likely to cost in excess of $10 billion, the already troubled 2016 Olympics faced an uncertain future.

Unemployment has also been very evident. As recorded, unemployment has risen to 4.3 percent in December but had increased all the way to 8.6 percent in July. Moreover, the country's president, Rouseff is also entangled in a scandal suspecting of his political corruption. Her opponents are also threatening an impeachment that would push the government's disaster.

Because of Brazil's complete disarray, the Rio Olympics funding is also affected, although exactly how much is unclear. But any operational cost overrun would fall on the government to pay, as well. The usual scenario as the games come closer to its launching, the budget gets spent at a breakneck pace.

John Coates, International Olympic Committee vice president,  mentioned his concerns when he said Rio's preparations were the "worst ever" last year. As the unfinished construction projects threaten the games, the 2016 event will most likely see slashes on some of the items for some projects.

The 2016 Olympics in Rio is purportedly bound to a messed up finish, but the games are still likely to debut in August.  For now, more than half of the games' tickets allocated for citizens remain unsold.