French announced as official language for 2016 Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on Monday (November 23) French as the official language for the 2016 Games amid rising fears that Rio de Janeiro may be a target of terrorist groups.

A ceremony was held with members of Brazil's French community, who held a minute's silence in honour of the victims of this month's Paris attacks, where 130 people were killed.

French has long been considered the official language of the Olympic Games, with its opening and closing ceremonies partially held in what was once the language of diplomacy.

The Switzerland-based IOC is an organization largely run by officials from French-speaking countries, which include 36 other nations besides France. Brazil is home to over half a million people who are fluent in French.

The International Francophone Committee chose Cameroonian musician, Manu Dibango, as their ambassador for the Olympic Games.

Dibango said Brazil had to be prepared for acts of violence such as those in Paris and Lebanon during the Games.

"The problem we had in Paris could happen anywhere else in the world -- they have put everyone on a level of equality. If it happens in Paris or here, security must be improved. There has always been security in the Olympics, but it must be reinforced now. It doesn't matter if it happens there or anywhere else in the world. All this has happened - there was Paris, there was Brussels, there was Lebanon, there were all the countries in Africa. So was all this was calculated to occur simultaneously in a single movement? Certainly yes. We should not expect the worse, but we need to anticipate this and be positive," he said.

Security experts have warned that many Brazilian officials do not realize just how big a stage the Olympics is for anyone seeking to sow terror, either through an attack on game venues, infrastructure nearby or the athletes and 500,000 tourists expected to attend.

Organizers are using past Olympics as models, cooperating with foreign intelligence services and building upon a successful safety record last year, when Brazil hosted the football World Cup. Compared with the last summer games, in London in 2012, they are doubling security personnel to 85,000 people.  — Reuters