Vitor Abdala
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Rio - A clock erected Tuesday (28) on Copacabana Beach, in the southern district of Rio, will mark the countdown to the 2007 Pan-American Games. The apparatus, which displays 500 days, was inaugurated in a ceremony in which the minister of Sports, Agnelo Queiroz, and the president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB), Carlos Arthur Nuzman, took part.

The Pan-American Games will be held in the city of Rio de Janeiro in July, 2007. But with 500 days left until the competition gets underway, construction is running behind schedule. Work on the Jacarepaguá Sports Complex, located in Rio's old speedway, for example, didn't begin until early in February.

According to minister Queiroz, there is no cause for concern, since, even with the delays, the facilities will all be ready on time. "We are certain that the games will take place. Now we are going to work intensively, because the funds are available. With money, the job gets done, around the clock, if necessary," he affirmed.

According to the minister, the three governmental spheres involved in the event - the Rio City Hall, the state government, and the federal government - will carry out their responsibilities for the games to go on. He also stated that in a recent evaluation the Pan-American Sports Organization (PASO) approved the organizational plans for the 2007 Games.

Translation: David Silberstein