What has Rio learned from London?

LONDON -- International lingerie model Alessandra Ambrosio and a street sweeper famous for samba dancing with his brush will be among the stars of Sunday night?s Olympic handover ceremony, organizers of the Rio 2016 games said Friday, as they outlined the lessons learned from the London Games.

More than 200 dancers and musicians will give an eight-minute performance designed to illustrate "multicultural embrace" during the closing ceremony in London?s main Olympic Stadium.

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"Embrace is the attitude that the games in Rio will have," said Marco Balich, executive producer of Rio's handover ceremony, which takes place during Sunday night?s closing ceremony when the Games are symbolically "handed" to the next host city. "Embrace the world."

Daniela Thomas, one of the art directors for Rio's role in the event, said the performance will highlight Brazil?s cultural diversity.

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?We are like DJs,? she told reporters. ?We like to take influences from around the world and mix them.?

Also taking part will be Renato Sorriso, a street cleaner in Rio who captured the hearts of Brazilians when he was pictured dancing samba in the street with his brush. He has since been a regular fixture in the Rio Carnival. His ?charm and joyfulness are a perfect translation of the carioca spirit,? organizers said.

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Leonardo Gryner, director general of the Rio 2016, told NBC News his team was ?learning good lessons? from London?s organization of the Games, including meticulous planning.

?We are already trying to match the incredible detail of planning that went into the London Games,? he said.

Gryner also promised to tackle the problem of empty seats, revealing to NBC News that Rio is trying out a text message-based alert system that could be used to notify spectators of seats that become available at short notice.

?Empty seats have been an issue for every Games, and each one has done a little to make it better. We hope we will do better and then in turn the next Games will do better than us,? Gryner said.

He also lauded London for what he called a "very successful" ticketing program, even though one of the major talking points during the opening days of this Olympics was how so many venues had so many empty seats.

"I will say that the Games in London have been very inspiring to us," Gryner said. "The high-quality of the preparation that London put together to deliver these games is really inspiring."

He added: ?We were surprised at what a difference the volunteers made in London. Everywhere you went on the transport system there were people ready to help. It was incredible, and we hope to take away some of that idea for Rio.?

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Gryner also said Rio was unlikely to suffer from the "ghost town" effect that blighted central London during the current Games, as non-Olympic visitors stayed away, fearful of transport chaos and long lines.

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He said: ?Brazilians like to party, as everyone knows. When we have concerts on the beach, we get a good crowd, people in Rio like to join in. So, I don?t think we will have the same situation where some people stay away from the city center."

Gryner also addressed the issue of safety and security, insisting Rio was among the safest parts of Brazil. ?Crime rates have gone down, right down,? he said. ?That used to be a problem ? not anymore.?

In a presentation to reporters, the Rio 2016 committee said venues in their city were already complete or expected to be finished on time.

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Many of the venues, such as the 1950-built Maracana Stadium, are extensive refurbishments of existing sites rather than new developments. A number of transport projects are in progress, such as the Bus Rapid Transit network, due for completion in December 2015, and the Metro Line 2, due in March 2014.

Gryner also spoke of the regional importance of Rio 2016 ? the first Games ever held in South America.

?It?s Brazil?s time - It?s South America?s time, actually ? and we?re ready for the world.?

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/48612369/ns/world_news-london_2012_hosting_the_games/

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