Paralympic Games set to go ahead despite budget cuts

The Paralympic Games will go ahead as planned despite major budget cuts, according to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

The IPC say the Rio 2016 organising committee's budget for the Games is not at the level originally committed to and late payment of National Paralympic Committee support grants could still pose a threat to the participation of 10 countries.

Additional funds have been secured following work with Rio's mayor Eduardo Paes and thanks to a number of state-run companies signing contracts to sponsor the Games.

Despite this, additional revenues are still short of the original budget planned for the Paralympics and the IPC has announced a raft of cuts, which include a downsizing of workforce, changes to the transport services offered to all clients, the closure of a number of venue media centres and a full review of the back-of-house spaces at all venues.

Sir Philip Craven, IPC president, said the organisation has been faced with great challenges with just 19 days to go until the opening ceremony.

"Never before in the 56-year history of the Paralympic Games have we faced circumstances like this," he said. "Since becoming aware of the full scale of the problem, we have focussed all of our efforts on finding solutions to the problems.

"At the IPC we are a relatively small but united organisation. It's in our Paralympic DNA to see obstacles as an opportunity to do things differently and that's what we are doing here. We are problem solvers by nature and fight for what we believe in."

On the cuts, he added: "These cuts are on top of the ones we, together with the IOC, have already made in the last 12 months and are likely to impact nearly every stakeholder attending the Games.

"We are working desperately hard to protect athlete services, especially within the field of play. They have dedicated their lives to reaching these Games and we will do our utmost to try and maintain the service levels and scope that they expect at a Paralympic Games."

Despite more funding and sponsorship now established, late payment of the National Paralympic Committee support grants could mean 10 countries struggle to cover the costs of travel to the Games. However, the IPC is optimistic the first instalment of the grants will now be paid by the Rio 2016 organising committee.

The grants were a Rio 2016 bid commitment for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and were due to be paid to all 165 participating countries at the end of July, with athletes set to arrive from August 31 onwards.

Sir Philip said: "Currently we have around 10 countries who, even if the grants are paid, may struggle to cover the cost of their travel to the Games. The IPC is working with them to find solutions and ensure their participation here in Rio

"We want full participation here. We want all eligible countries to send their athletes to the Games. It's what the athletes deserve and it is what the athletes want after years of training and dedication."

Despite this, Sir Philip said he remains confident the Games will be a success and have the potential to act as a catalyst to positive social change in Brazil and Latin America.

"I am fully confident Rio 2016 will be the best Games ever in terms of athletic performance," he said. "You only have to look at some of the achievements from Para athletes over the last two years to realise we will witness some truly spectacular sport.

"I believe the performances of the Para athletes will act as a catalyst for social change. The Paralympics have a strong track record for changing global attitudes towards people with an impairment, and are now widely regarded as the world's number one sporting event for driving positive societal change and social inclusion.

"The opportunity we have here to make Rio, Brazil, Latin America and the world a more equitable place for all does not come around very often, so we have to grab it with both hands."

According to the organising committee, just over 290,000 tickets have been sold for the Paralympics, although sales have picked up in recent days.

"We now hope a new promotional campaign will engage the Brazilian public and lead to strong crowds for all sports," Sir Philip said. "At this point it is difficult for us to expect the full venues that we saw in Beijing or London, or expect to see in Tokyo in four years' time.

"However, we hope the passion of the Brazilian people and their desire to support and see Brazilian athletes win medals will see them turn out en-masse. People power could really determine the outcome of these Games."

The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games will take place from September 7-18.