A fire erupted on Wednesday morning at Rio de Janeiro's Olympic Park velodrome, prompting a major emergency response involving around 80 firefighters and 20 vehicles, according to reports. The state's military fire brigade confirmed the fire had been brought under control. The fire was largely restricted to the venue's fabric roof, and no injuries were reported from the incident. The interior of the building, including the Olympic Museum, remained unaffected by the fire, according to the state's military fire brigade. Eduardo Cavaliere, the city's mayor, stated that a small portion of the city's Olympic museum, housed within the velodrome, was impacted by the fire but not seriously. He emphasized that the Velodrome and the Olympic Museum were barely affected by the fire and remain intact and well-preserved.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. The facility has a history of roof fires, with two comparable blazes in 2017 attributed to falling paper sky lanterns.
The Velodrome and the Olympic Museum were barely affected by the fire. It remains intact and well-preserved.
Since the 2016 Olympics, the Velodrome has functioned as a principal training base for Brazil's national cycling and weightlifting squads. The arena was built specially for the 2016 Games and remains a prominent feature of the former Olympic Park. The velodrome boasts a capacity of around 5,000 spectators and a 250-metre cycling track certified for competition.
The museum within the Velodrome houses historical artefacts from the Games, including the Olympic torch and medals. Teams worked to secure these artefacts in the aftermath of the blaze, according to local authorities.
Obviously, it will need to be cleaned and undergo some form of maintenance before we can announce that the Velodrome is back in operation.
The exact cause of the fire at the velodrome is still unknown, and it is unclear how long cleaning and maintenance will take before the facility is operational again. Specific artefacts secured by teams after the blaze have not been detailed, and the estimated cost of damage from the fire has not been disclosed. It is also unknown whether there were any evacuations or disruptions to training schedules at the facility due to the fire.
The structure of the Velodrome itself is preserved and the track has not been hit at all.