Twitter hashtag #RioProblems chronicles the litany of disasters and disease plaguing the Olympics
THE Twitter hashtag #rioproblems has went viral with social media users mocking the litany of troubles surrounding the 2016 Olympic Games.
The international sporting event, which is being held in Brazil for the first time, has been swamped with issues ranging from crime, pollution and the Zika virus outbreak.
There is even a Twitter account, named @RioProblems, dedicated to the problems surrounding the event.
And the boldest predication made from the account is: “At this rate gold medals will be handed out just for surviving the Olympics”.
The 2014 Winter Olympics Games in Sochi spawned #sochiproblems, but it seems #rioproblems is set to blow that out of the water.
A quick glance at the Twitter feed is a chronicle of the disasters — everything from a recent demonstration at Rio’s airport that greeted visitors with a sign reading ‘Welcome to hell’ to swimmers told to keep their heads out of the polluted water. It even features missing stadium sinks.
RELATED STORIES
Zika virus is an ever-present threat, crime is up, and with long queues for tickets which don’t seem to exist, preparedness is way, way down.
Spectators, athletes and officials have posted a series of complaints ranging from the seriously life-threatening to the downright hilarious.
Over at the golf course, a 112-year absence of the sport from the Games appears to have allowed wildlife to flourish — People Magazine reports it is ‘overrun with wildlife’ — a menagerie which includes sloths, mini crocodiles, boa constrictors, mico monkeys, and the world’s largest rodent, a capybara.
The IOC said it will do its best to assure players they won’t have to fend off 1.5m caiman crocodiles while they play, hiring a team of five biologist handlers that will transport the potentially dangerous animals away from the golfers if needed.
The @RioProblems Twitter handle features everything from a ramp collapsing at the sailing venue to a group of protesters extinguishing the Olympic torch as it made its way through a seaside town earlier this week.
Dozens of posts show the allegedly inadequate state of Rio’s Olympic accommodations.
Sports writer Eric Adelsen filed a picture of a missing stadium sink, but later happily noted in another post he’d never been in a cab with its own snack tray before.
Last week the Australian team refused to move into the athlete’s village until electrical and plumbing concerns were fixed. Italy’s Olympic team hired their own plumbers and electricians to sort its accommodation.
Amid myriad reports of robberies and assaults — including the theft of $40,000 of gear from News Corp’s photographer Brett Costello — a would-be robber was shot dead by the jujitsu-skilled man he allegedly attacked. That story gets murkier by the minute with Russia denying initial claims that a Russian diplomat fired the shots.
Other revelations include officials having to open a soccer stadium with bolt cutters during the week because someone had lost the key.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368