--- description: Brazil's Sports Minister insists that Rio de Janeiro is prepared to host the Olympic Games in two months title: Brazilian Sports Minister Says Rio Is Ready for Olympics image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7909fc6c128c19cd/698896bca988ca3a4a6b8223/gettyimages-532220674.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [brazil](/tag/brazil/) ## brazil Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Brazilian Sports Minister Says Rio Is Ready for the Olympics by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 7, 2016 4:00 AM CUT  Minister of Sport Leonardo Picciani gives an interview at his office in Brasília on May 18, 2016 Minister of Sport Leonardo Picciani gives an interview at his office in Brasília on May 18, 2016Andressa Anholete—AFP/Getty Images by [Nash Jenkins](/author/p-nash-jenkins/) ## Nash Jenkins Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 7, 2016 4:00 AM CUT Brazil’s Sports Minister [insists](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36459959 "undefined") that Rio de Janeiro is prepared to host the Olympic Games in two months, despite a litany of heavily publicized potential setbacks. Leonardo Picciani, who was appointed to the role less than three months ago, told the BBC that those attending the Games would “have a great experience.” It has been an arduous few months for the South American country, where President Dilma Rousseff faces an impeachment trial in a sweeping national corruption scandal, and an outbreak of the Zika virus has prompted more than 200 [scientists](http://time.com/4324402/zika-virus-brazil-olympics/ "undefined") to ask officials to [delay](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36401150 "undefined") the Olympics. **Read More:** [_Here Are the 4 Challenges Rio de Janeiro Must Meet to Host a Successful 2016 Olympics_](http://time.com/3768709/rio-de-janeiro-2016-olympics/ "undefined") Meanwhile, there remains work to be done in preparation for the Games themselves. The BBC reports that there are concerns over unfinished construction, and in late April, two people [died](http://time.com/4304365/rio-de-janeiro-olympic-bike-path-collapses/ "undefined") after the collapse of a bike path built in a wave of pre-Olympic municipal renovations. Picciani, however, said “all precautions” had been taken to prevent the spread of Zika and that the Olympics team was running “seamlessly.” “I would say to any athlete, to any visitor planning on coming to Rio, you do not have to worry, Rio and Brazil have prepared for this moment.” \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36459959 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4359344/brazil-leonardo-picciani-rio-de-janeiro-olympics/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4359344/brazil-leonardo-picciani-rio-de-janeiro-olympics/"},"headline":"Brazilian Sports Minister Says Rio Is Ready for the Olympics","datePublished":"2016-06-07T04:00:05.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T22:25:47.005Z","description":"Leonardo Picciani's comments come amid concerns over an outbreak of the Zika virus","url":"https://time.com/4359344/brazil-leonardo-picciani-rio-de-janeiro-olympics/","keywords":["brazil","olympics","Dilma Rousseff","Summer Olympics","2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics","Zika"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7909fc6c128c19cd/698896bca988ca3a4a6b8223/gettyimages-532220674.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nash Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/p-nash-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7909fc6c128c19cd/698896bca988ca3a4a6b8223/gettyimages-532220674.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BRAZIL-MINISTERS-SPORT-PICCIANI","caption":"BRAZIL-MINISTERS-SPORT-PICCIANI","creditText":"Andressa Anholete—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/brazil/","name":"brazil"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4359344/brazil-leonardo-picciani-rio-de-janeiro-olympics/","name":"Brazilian Sports Minister Says Rio Is Ready for the Olympics"}}]}] ```