70% of Rio Locals Want Olympic Games Cancelled Amid Zika Outbreak

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70% of Rio Locals Want Olympic Games Cancelled Amid Zika Outbreak

A new poll which revealed that 70% of local Rio residents believe the Olympic Games should be cancelled amid the ongoing Zika outbreak.
The survey also revealed that 66% of locals believe the Olympic Games will have a negative impact on the Brazilian economy.
As government officials continue to play down concerns surrounding the Games, Investing.com surveyed 510 Brazilian users in Rio to gain a better understanding of the local feeling towards this summer’s Olympic Games and the Zika outbreak.

Olympic Games Cancelled?

New York – A new poll conducted by the global financial portal Investing.com, has revealed that 70% of locals from Rio de Janeiro believe that the city is no longer safe to host the 2016 Olympic Games this summer amid the ongoing outbreak of the Zika Virus that began in Brazil a year ago.

Brazil’s health ministry registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus between February and April of this year, with the number of babies born with Zika-linked defects standing at 4,908 in April alone. The Brazilian public aren’t the only ones calling for the Games to be postponed however, as more than 100 leading scientists claimed new findings about Zika made it “unethical” for the Games to go ahead in an open letter to The World Health Organization (WHO) – a letter that the WHO rejected just this week.

In a survey of over 500 randomly chosen Brazilians from Rio, one that sought to uncover public opinion amongst the host city of the Games two months out, also revealed that 66% of locals believe the Rio 2016 Olympics will have a negative impact on the economy and only 10% believing it will be beneficial. The results mirror the fact that over 75% of Rio inhabitants believe the World Cup that was hosted by Brazil just two years has resulted in a decline in their economy.

Perhaps most telling of all is that a spectacle intended to boost the local economy and provide a sporting legacy for years to come, saw 60% of locals believing the government will be the main benefactor of the games, with just 15% envisaging a benefit for the local ecosystem and just 3% seeing an advantage for future generations.

“The poll results aren’t surprising, as Brazil has been a mess in recent months. From the growing corruption scandal involving President Dilma Rousseff to the ongoing Zika crisis, many are calling for the Olympic games to be moved to a different country or at least postponed,” said Jesse Cohen, senior editor at Investing.com “If the 2014 World Cup is any indication, the 2016 Olympics will prove to be an economic disaster for an already faltering economy.”

Investing.com is a financial platform covering global financial markets with real-time data, charts, news and analysis in 30 language editions, catering to over 13 million monthly users around the world. With over 100 million monthly sessions and 400 million monthly pageviews, Investing.com currently ranks among the top five sites in the industry globally and is number 1 in a range of local markets around the world.

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