The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), held a press conference this Saturday morning (4) to present the reasons that led to the cancellation of the New Year’s Eve party in the city.
“I was surprised yesterday by the decision of the state’s scientific committee. […] There is no way not to follow the science in this case. In view of the manifestation of the state’s scientific committee, pointing out the risks for holding the party, I decided to cancel it”, he declared to the press.
According to the mayor, there will also be no fireworks. “What the state’s scientific committee said is that it has to avoid crowding and that the party could present risks. So, at first, everything is cancelled.”
By crediting health experts with suspending the party, which could bring together up to 3 million people in Rio de Janeiro, Paes recalled the effects on the economy and charged the committees with the counseling.
“This is not a fete we have. This is a party that demands enormous logistics from the city hall, demands expenses. We believe in and want to trust science, but those who are part of these scientific committees have to be responsible because their words weigh a lot”, he said.
“I even heard an argument that ‘this is not quite how the state’s scientific committee decided’, but the message that was passed on to the population is just like that. We cannot live with this uncertainty”, said the mayor.
The municipality’s scientific committee indicated the possibility of holding the party, according to the city hall, while specialists who help the state government recommended its cancellation. Meetings were expected to be held next week to ‘hit the hammer’ on the matter, but Mayor Eduardo Paes announced the decision this Saturday morning.
New Year’s Eve without sponsors
as showed the CNN, the companies hired by the capital to carry out the party had not yet obtained sponsorship, which put the tender at risk. Asked about the financial problems, Eduardo Paes ruled out the influence for the cancellation.
“There is no way the city hall has its accounts organized, it finances this party calmly. I would have no difficulty in assuming the full costs”, he claimed.
Paes also denied that he was impacted by the national movement to suspend the New Year, which has already been canceled in several capitals across the country. And he took the opportunity to encourage tourism in Rio de Janeiro, even without the traditional fireworks display on Copacabana beach.
“What I say to tourists who come from other states in the country is that, with the transmission rate that we have, I find it very difficult for there to be any other restrictive measures. You’ll eventually have 15 minutes without fireworks on Copacabana beach, but the city remains magical, amazing, welcoming, beautiful, wonderful. Vaccinated tourists will be very welcome”, he declared.
This week, Rio expanded the requirement of the vaccine passport to hotels, bars and restaurants.
Reference: CNN Brasil
