Organisers apologise for chaotic start

Security scares delay nervous fans for hours

The Rio Olympic Games got off to a shambolic and nervous start on Saturday, with organisers apologising to angry fans kept waiting for hours at security checkpoints to enter venues while, outside, shootings and bomb scares kept visitors on edge.

Athletes competed in front of empty stands early on the first day of full competition as spectators complained of missing their events while queueing for security clearance.

The morning after a dazzling opening ceremony, organisers admitted to dropping the ball, with only a few hundred spectators making their way into venues such as the gymnastics arena and the beach volleyball on iconic Copacabana beach.

Outside, lines stretched for several blocks as fans stood in full sun, and security staff struggled. Organisers blamed a lack of coordination between security personnel, including the police, Games staff and private security firms.

Gymnasts performed in front of swathes of empty seats in an arena that can seat 13 500 people. The boxing venue also had many empty seats as the first professionals in Olympics history entered the ring.

“I don’t believe it. It’s absurd, ridiculous,” Rio resident Natalia Carvalho, 28, said.

She missed seeing Brazilian gymnast and medal hopeful Arthur Zanetti compete on the rings as she waited with thousands of others to enter the Olympic park.

“It’s a lack of respect for the fan that bought tickets. It’s a shame,” she said.

What should have been a celebration of the start of South America’s first Olympics turned into a damage-control operation, with Games spokesman Mario Andrada vowing an immediate improvement.

“We apologise for everybody standing in line outside the venues,” he said.

“Within the next hours we will be in much better shape.”

At the tennis centre, where former world No 1 Ana Ivanovic played in front of virtually empty stands in the first round, fans had to wait more than 20 minutes to buy water.

Spectators encountered similar situations at the rowing and rugby venues in 32°C heat.

Security has emerged as a top concern after a string of killings, kidnappings and robberies.

Spectators leaving the Olympics opening ceremony at the famed Maracana stadium on Friday night were confronted by the body of a 22-year-old man shot dead by police in the street.

Police said the man had robbed several people in the area, but did not give further details.

A 51-year-old Brazilian woman was also shot dead during a robbery on Friday in the renovated “Marvelous Port” area meant to be a main attraction for Olympic tourists.

That came a day after police confirmed that a man had killed a suspect who had tried to carjack his luxury vehicle in the main Olympic area of Barra. The Russian consul denied reports that the man was a consulate employee.

On Saturday, a bomb squad carried out a controlled explosion of an unattended bag, believed to belong to a homeless man, near the finish line of the men’s cycling road race on Copacabana’s sweeping boulevard.

There have been several controlled blasts in recent days as organisers have tightened security around venues.