Ticket sales have lagged compared to previous Games, with less than
half of them sold, according to data announced by organisers last month.
Brazil's
President Dilma Rousseff attends an inauguration ceremony of the
Olympic aquatic venue at the 2016 Rio Olympics park in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, April 8, 2016. Embattled Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has cancelled plans to attend the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics torch-lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia later this month, Greece's Olympic Committee (HOC) said on Friday.
Rousseff's
office in Brasilia said her trip to Greece was never confirmed because
it overlapped with two events she is due to attend at the United Nations
on drugs and climate change.
Rousseff, facing an
impeachment effort over a series of scandals and probes in Brazil, had
been expected to attend the April 21 torch-lighting event along with
Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and the head of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach.
The
ritual at the birthplace of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece
traditionally marks the countdown to the world's biggest multi-sports
event with the lighting of the torch and a torch relay.
"The
President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff has cancelled her presence at the
event according to information provided to the Hellenic Olympic
Committee (HOC) by the embassy of Brazil," event organisers HOC said in a
statement.
Rio will host the first Olympics in
South American from Aug. 5-21, with their torch relay starting on May 3
in the capital Brasilia and ending in Rio on the day of the opening
ceremony.
Preparations for the Games have been hit
by the country's worst recession in decades, with organisers racing to
save money through a series of last minute cost-cutting measures.
Ticket
sales have lagged compared to previous Games, with less than half of
them sold, according to data announced by organisers last month.
Organisers
have also grappled with pollution in waters where sailing and rowing
events will be held, and the threat of the mosquito-borne Zika virus
that has spread across the continent.
These
challenges come as authorities have said they suspect corruption in
Olympic-building projects carried out by the same construction and
engineering firms charged with graft in a major scandal involving
state-run oil company Petrobras.
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