The Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is currently without power after the venue’s supply was switched off over a dispute regarding unpaid electricity bills.
According to the Associated Press, electric utility firm Light moved to cut off the stadium’s power supply yesterday (Thursday), stating that it is owed 3m reals (€884,900/$944,000/£752,000).
Light said 1.3m reals of the total is owed by a consortium managing the stadium led by construction firm Odebrecht, with the remaining balance yet to be paid by organisers of the Rio 2016 summer Olympic Games. The Maracana was one of a number of venues that featured at last year’s sporting spectacle.
The utility firm said Rio 2016 organisers are yet to pay bills from September and October, with Odebrecht behind on bills from November, December and January.
The news will come as a further blow to the Maracana, which has fallen into disrepair in recent weeks, and Odebrecht recently contacted the state of Rio to take over management of the venue. However, Rio has declared a “financial calamity”, stating that it is months behind paying teachers, nurses, other public employees and pensions.
However, in response to the decision to shut off the power, Mario Andrada, a spokeswoman for Rio 2016, said in a statement that Light also owes money to the Games’ organiser.
The statement said: “Light and us, we have a separate deal. They owe us money as a sponsor, and we owe them money for energy during the games.”
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