Culture
Rio Security Is Cutting Corners to Curb Long Lines
Perhaps Brazilian security was never prepared for the Olympics, but the decision to ditch strict procedures puts the games at risk.
Some of the few who are fortunate enough to attend the Rio 2016 Olympics aren’t seeing the games at all. From a fan’s perspective, that’s a crisis. But things could be worse—and may yet be, given the present course of decision-making by authorities in Rio.
From the start, epic lines greeted attendees at Rio 2016. Some lines stretched so long that people queued up only to miss the event entirely. Olympians competing in some early rounds of beach volleyball and basketball played to nearly empty venues, thanks to security procedures that held up fans for longer than the duration of the event.