European Critique for Rio in Minsk

(ATR) The Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro may have been "super" but it also came with drawbacks.

The European Olympic Committees is first among the Olympic family stakeholders to issue a public critique of the Rio 2016 Olympics. It was delivered in Minsk, Belarus on the closing day of the annual general assembly of the association that represents the 50 national Olympic committees of Europe, including Israel.

"The super Olympic Village could lay its claim to be the best over the last years," said George Katunen, chair of the EOC commission on the Olympic Games.

But he said "a huge number of drawbacks" presented challenges to NOCs. His report to the EOC relied on experts who were asked to highlight the "most serious problems" faced in Rio. Among the responses:

*Accomodations not ready in the Olympic Village.

*Services for NOCs described as "really bad".

*Transport deemed "insufficient".

*A "general atmosphere of constant danger" influenced the "spirit of Olympic festivities".

*Customs clearance was said to be "a nightmare".

*Olympic Village food was derided as "not optimal, poor in quality".

The comments in the report are not necessarily new complaints, but do present a catalog of the issues presented by Rio, though not necessarily experienced universally.

In other business at the assembly in Minsk, the EOC confirmed the hosts for the 2021 European Youth Olympic Festivals. Vuokatti, Finland will holdthe winter event with the summer edition to Košice, Slovakia.

Zagreb, Croatia was announced as the site for the 2017 general assembly.

The selection of Minsk as the host for the 2019 European Games on day one of the assembly will clearly shape the work of the EOC for the next three years. The Belarus capital will need to mount an organizing committee that can work quickly, given the year+ delay in naming a 2019 European Games host.

"I am delighted that the future of the European Gamesis assured. The Games are an important event for European athletes and have a key role to play in helping them reach the Olympic Games by offering qualification opportunities and vital experience of a major multi-sport event," says EOC acting President Janez Kocijančič in a statement.

While the inaugural 2015 European Games included nearly 6,000 athletes in 20 sports, there is talk the Minsk edition may be scaled back as a concession to lost time.

EOC vice president Kocijančič will apparently continue for some time in his role as acting president in the absence of Patrick Hickey. Hickey remains in Rio de Janeiro where he is waiting for a trial on ticket scalping charges, perhaps months away.

"We have agreed to help Patrick Hickey prove his innocence and return to Ireland," says Kocijančič, who is in touch with him. After his arrest in Rio in August, Hickey voluntarily suspended his presidency of the EOC and the Olympic Council of Ireland as well as his IOC membership. Hickey has denied wrongdoing.

Kocijančič, a lawyer in Slovenia and past president of the NOC, is hoping that Brazil will allow Hickey to return to Ireland for treatment of a heart ailment.

Written by Ed Hula.