When Rio de Janeiro won the right to host the 2016 Olympic Games, Brazil's top diplomat in the Southeast U.S. said the selection showed his country's economic ascendance and growth in global influence. 

"The choice ... reflects Brazil’s development, its growing role in the international scenario, the quality of the Brazilian project and also the image of Rio’s beauty impressed upon people’s mind all over the world,” said Adalnio Senna Ganem, Brazil's consul general in Atlanta, in an e-mail to GlobalAtlanta. 

But Rio didn't rely on its beauty to win the Olympic pageant. Rio's bid committee and its prominent backers, including Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, had to fight the perception that violent crime is rampant in Brazil's second largest city and make the case that it's safe enough to host the huge sporting event.

GlobalAtlanta spoke briefly with Mr. Ganem about this challenge and others that the city will face in preparing for the Games and how Atlanta's Olympic heritage will affect Rio:

What challenges must Rio de Janeiro address in preparing for the Olympics?

We’ll have to improve the infrastructure. The main projects are already included in the government’s Infrastructure Program. More than $15 billion will be invested in infrastructure, and this will create about 65,000 jobs in the city. Projects include transportation, expansion of athlete accommodations and construction of stadiums.

Rio, with a population of over 10 million people, is one of the largest and busiest cities in the world.  Security is a common issue in great touristic areas, and this is an important part that will have to be addressed.

The city will also have to be prepared to accommodate the heavy flow of tourists that will be visiting during that short period of the Olympics. Not only new hotels will be created, but also part of the challenge will be solved with the large cruise ships stationed around the bay.

How can Atlanta, with its Olympic heritage, help its sister city prepare for the Games? 

I have been in contact with the main coordinators of the Atlanta Olympic Games. We can definitely benefit from their experience of organizing such a large event.

How will Rio's selection boost business ties between the Georgia and Brazil? 

Brazil and Georgia have already established many business ties, and the Olympic Games will offer huge potential for new investment in the city of Rio and in the country.

The infrastructure projects alone will exceed $15 billion. However, in the context of recent Brazilian developments and its growing participation in the international economic markets, the Games will have an indirect impact in many other areas in Brazil, especially in tourism, transportation and real estate.

The 2016 Olympics will also (help) Brazil’s prospects of being within 10 years the fifth or sixth largest economy in the world. Let’s not forget that the Olympics will come two years after the World Cup in Brazil, and that’s when the hype will have already begun.

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