We’re just a few days away from the start of the 2016 Olympic Games, taking place in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. While the Olympics are typically a time for celebration, this year’s Games have garnered quite a bit of controversy. Things in Rio…well, let’s just say they could be better at this point.
Here are a few photos that illustrate just what’s going on there.
1. This is a packet of cocaine recently picked up by Brazilian police with the Olympic logo on it.
W Rio można już kupić koks z olimpijskim logo (fot. HO / POLICIA CIVIL / AFP) pic.twitter.com/kMW3eaFS2u
— Michał Koper (@michalkoper77) July 28, 2016
2. That sure looks like a body rolled up in a sleeping bag. It was found in a city irrigation canal.
3. Garbage, garbage everywhere.
4. Burning garbage just off a major highway that cuts through Rio.
Getty Images
5. Pollution floating in Guanabara Bay, which is where the sailing events of the Olympics are scheduled to take place.
Getty Images
6. This is a snapshot of a massive fish die-off that happened in Guanabara Bay back in February.
Getty Images
7. More waterway pollution.
Getty Images
8. This is what Guanabara Bay looks like when you get out on it.
9. Police in Brazil are also notoriously brutal. Last year, police in Rio alone were responsible for one out of every five murders.
Getty Images
10. Brazil is still dealing with a political crisis stemming from an unprecedented corruption case involving the country’s president Dilma Rousseff.
Getty Images
11. Not to mention, of course, that the specter of the Zika virus is hanging over the whole Olympic event.
Getty Images
12. Oh yeah, and did you know they killed a jaguar during the Olympic torch ceremony? It was released as part of the ceremony in nearby Manaus, Brazil, but was shot by a soldier when it got too close for his comfort.
Getty Images
While the Games will certainly go on as planned in just a few days, I expect that it won’t exactly be a smooth process. I suppose time will tell…
Comments