IOC President Thomas Bach believes the final preparations for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro won't be affected by the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Brazil's Senate voted on Thursday to put leftist Rousseff on trial in a historic decision brought on by a deep recession and a corruption scandal that will now confront her successor, Vice President Michel Temer.

Bach said that the Olympics will be a success despite the political crisis that led the Brazilian Senate to vote 55-22 to impeach Rousseff, less than three months before the opening ceremony of the games.

“Preparations for the Olympic Games have now entered into a very operational phase and issues such as these have much less influence than at other stages of organizing the Olympic Games,” Bach said.

The Senate has 180 days to conduct a trial and decide whether Rousseff should be permanently removed from office.

By tradition, the head of state declares the games open during the opening ceremony, which will be held Aug. 5 at the Maracana Stadium.

“There is strong support for the Olympic Games in Brazil and we look forward to working with the new government to deliver successful games in Rio this summer,” Bach said.

“We have seen the great progress being made in Rio de Janeiro and we remain confident about the success of the Olympic Games in August.”

The buildup to the Rio Games - the first in South America - has been clouded not only by the political crisis, but by Brazil's deep recession, a vast corruption scandal, the Zika virus outbreak and concerns over venue delays and severe water pollution at the locations for Olympic sailing and rowing.

Bach is expected to travel to Rio next month for a firsthand check on preparations.

“The Brazilian people will deliver a memorable Olympic Games full of passion for sport for which they are world renowned,” he said. “It will be a moment for Brazil to show to the world its determination to overcome the present crisis. These will be Brazil's games.”

Opinion

Editorial

When medicine fails
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

When medicine fails

Between now and 2050, medical experts expect antibiotic resistance to kill 40m people worldwide.
Nawaz on India
Updated 18 Nov, 2024

Nawaz on India

Nawaz Sharif’s hopes of better ties with India can only be realised when New Delhi responds to Pakistan positively.
State of abuse
18 Nov, 2024

State of abuse

DESPITE censure from the rulers and society, and measures such as helplines and edicts to protect the young from all...
Football elections
17 Nov, 2024

Football elections

PAKISTAN football enters the most crucial juncture of its ‘normalisation’ era next week, when an Extraordinary...
IMF’s concern
17 Nov, 2024

IMF’s concern

ON Friday, the IMF team wrapped up its weeklong unscheduled talks on the Fund’s ongoing $7bn programme with the...
‘Un-Islamic’ VPNs
Updated 17 Nov, 2024

‘Un-Islamic’ VPNs

If curbing pornography is really the country’s foremost concern while it stumbles from one crisis to the next, there must be better ways to do so.