Rio Paralympics 2016: Games to go ahead with major budget cuts

  20 August 2016    Read: 779
Rio Paralympics 2016: Games to go ahead with major budget cuts
The Paralympic Games will take place as planned next month, but face major budget cuts, the International Paralympic Committee has announced.
The cuts will be made to venues, the workforce and transport.

Delayed travel grants will now be paid to athletes, but 10 countries may struggle to get teams to Rio.

"Never before in the 56-year history of the Paralympic Games have we faced circumstances like this," said IPC president Sir Philip Craven.

With 19 days to the start of the Games, the IPC says Rio`s organising committee has not raised enough money to fund the Paralympics.

This is due to Brazil`s struggling economy and the fact that only 12% of available tickets have so far been sold for the Games, which start on 7 September.

It meant organisers were three weeks late in paying 8m euros (£7m) in travel grants to help athletes get to Rio.

But Rio`s mayor Eduardo Paes has secured an additional £36m of funding and £24m in sponsorship from state-run companies after an injunction was lifted that had blocked further state aid for the Games.

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