Brazil's $12 billion Olympic legacy lies in ruins: Five months after the Rio Games, stadiums are crumbling as cash-strapped nation is left with crippling debts

 

 

 

Shocking pictures show arenas used during the Olympic and Paralympic Games last year in disrepair

An estimated $12billion was spent on the Games, with nearly the same being spent on the 2014 World Cup

Brazil is facing a huge economic crisis, with public sector workers going unpaid and facing wage cuts

There is a growing anger in Brazil over the amount spent on the sporting events at a time of recession

Less than six months ago, the eyes of the world were on the huge Olympic stadiums in Rio. 

Billions of dollars were spent on bringing the flagship sporting event to Brazil, with the overall cost estimated to be around $12billion. This was at a time when the Brazilian economy was in a huge recession, and state workers were being paid late, if at all.

But now the Olympic legacy lies in ruins, new photos have revealed, with arenas crumbling and already falling into disrepair.

  

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The threadbare pitch of the world-famous Maracana Stadium is a far cry from the days when it hosted the World Cup final and fixtures in last year's Olympic and Paralympic Games

The crumbling inside of the Maracana stadium is a shocking indictment of the legacy of the huge sporting events Rio has hosted in the past three years



A huge pile of seats, which have been torn up from the stands, inside the Maracana stadium in Rio, which hosted the 2014 World Cup final
The threadbare pitch of the world-famous Maracana Stadium is a far cry from the days when it hosted the World Cup final and fixtures in last year's Olympic and Paralympic Games

BEFORE,



In its heydey, the Aquatics Centre, pictured last year, hosted events featuring some of the world's best known athletes

 

AFTER,





Sad legacy: The Olympic Aquatics Centre in Rio de Janeiro, which was set to be converted into two schools
 

Two years earlier, the Ministry of Sport stated, $11.63billion was spent on bringing the World Cup to the cash-strapped country. Such was the outcry that soccer-mad Brazilians took to the streets to protest the massive expenditure at a time when public services were under intense pressure.

This year, the New York Times reports, that at least 48 towns and cities are considering cancelling carnival celebrations this year because they cannot afford it.

In Rio, the newspaper states, authorities are predicting a budget shortfall of $1billion this year, with the state budget likely to be $6billion short. It also owes $10billion in loans