Rio's Olympic Facilities Are Falling Apart Only 6 Months After The Games

Only six months ago the last Olympic medal was given away in the Rio's state-of-the-art Olympic village. Now, though, these Olympic facilities are consumed by decay and look more like props of some post-apocalyptic movie. The last big ceremony held there was the closing of the Paralympics, after which the famous Maracana Stadium has been looted, the pools drained, and most other facilities closed down with the exception of the city's Olympic golf course, which is also fighting hard to stay afloat. This sheds light on an old problem which usually reminds of itself every couple of years. That is the use of the Olympic facilities after the games are over. Same thing happened with the deteriorating Olympic village in Sochi, Russia and many others that we've covered here. Surely, a new system of holding the Olympic Games is long overdue, and just to start the brainstorming session, let's consider a couple of constant Olympic villages, which would be kept up to date and actually in use. What are your thoughts on the matter? (h/t: the guardian) An aerial view of the empty Olympic Park.Photo by Nacho Doce / Reuters/Reuters Photo by Nacho Doce / Reuters/Reuters Translucent tapestries created by the Brazilian artist Adriana Varejao, fall from the exterior of the aquatics center as a combination of mud, rainwater and dead insects have contributed to the rust color of the water in a practice pool. Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters Inside the Aquatics Stadium. Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters Photo by Nacho Doce/Reuters The pitch of the world-famous Maracana Stadium that played a key role in the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games is now dry, worn and filled with ruts and holes. Photo by Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images The stadium has been hit by vandals who have ripped out thousands of seats... Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Televisions got stolen first. Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP The stadium was renovated for the 2014 World Cup at a cost of about $500m, and since the Olympics and Paralympics has only hosted a handful of games, the last being a charity match organized by Zico in December 2016. Photo by Silvia Izquierdo/AP The iconic stadium has fallen into a state of abandonment and has been closed to tourists due to a dispute between the stadium operators, the Rio state government, and Olympic organizers over $1m in unpaid electricity bills and management of the venue. Photo by Vanderlei Almeida/AFP/Getty Images The future for the $20m golf course looks bleak: it has had trouble attracting enough paying players to maintain the course and facilities. Photo by Nacho Doce / Reuters/Reuters The prefabricated houses next to the Olympic golf course which were created and used for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and now run by the Brazilian Golf Confederation for the public are now abandoned. Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images Local children take the opportunity to explore and have a kickaround at the Olympic Park. Photo by Pilar Olivares/Reuters Same thing happened with the deteriorating Olympic village in Sochi, Russia and many others that we've covered here.