S|CON 2016 News Blog

As Olympics begin, a massive security apparatus descends on Rio

The New York Times

As the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games draw closer, Brazil is steadily increasing its security forces in order to combat the threat of potential terrorist attacks.

The Olympic Games, while known for its ability to bring the nations of the world together in sport, also is known for its history of terror-related attacks, seen with the tragedies of the 1972 Munich Games as well as the 1996 Atlanta Games.

It is estimated that 85,000 professionals from Brazil’s Ministry of Defense and National Security Forces will be contracted out for the Games. The security professionals for the Games will be composed of Brazil’s military and civilian forces, with representatives from federal police, Fire and Civil Defense Corps, general police, Federal Highway Police, penitentiary department, Municipal Guard, and National Security Forces all taking part.

Although Brazil is no stranger to sizable events, having hosted the World Cup in 2014, the security for the Olympics will be slightly different. The World Cup’s security, according to Brazil’s secretary for major events at the Ministry of Justice, Andrei Rodrigues, was a collaboration of 40 participating country’s security forces, while the Olympic Games’ security will be entirely up to Brazil.

Along with increasing security forces for the Games, Brazil has also created the Integrated Center for Combating Terrorism (ICLS), an office dedicated entirely to coordinating federal and civil forces in regards to security for the Games.

The vast security measures come at no small a cost, with the price estimates solely for security coming in at $1.52 billion R. Nearly $1.170 billion R will be given from Brazil’s federal government, while the remainder will be picked up by the Rio 2016 Olympic Committee.

The immense price tag regarding security may seem superfluous, but upon recalling previous Olympic tragedies as well as the ubiquity of terrorism within our modern world, puts the cost of protecting the attendees of the Games into perspective. Mirroring a sentiment spoken by Brazil’s Andrei Rodrigues, “terrorism is a concern of all countries.”