By Nick Butler at the Rio 2016 Headquarters in Rio de Janeiro

Coordination Commission members, including chair Nawal El Moutawakel, during the venue tour today ©Alex Ferro/Rio 2016March 20 - A venue tour focusing on the Deodoro Complex in the north of the city was the highlight of the second day of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Coordination Committee inspection here today. 

The Commission, led by Morocco´s Nawal El Moutawakel, was accompanied by Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, as well as Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman and various other representatives from the Organising Committee.

The tour, which followed the presentations and meetings on the opening day of the visit yesterday, started in Copacabana close to the Windsor Hotel where the Commission members are staying, before passing by the Sambódromo region that stages the Rio Carnival parade and will host archery and marathon events in 2016.

The members then spent the bulk of the day at the Deodoro complex, a Games cluster which has received criticism for proposed venues being behind construction schedules in recent months.

But, when visiting the national centres for equestrian and shooting - venues constructed for the 2007 Pan-American Games that will be renovated for Rio 2016 - Commission members reported being "impressed by how well the two structures had been maintained".

They also described Deodoro´s "overall potential" for integrating the Games into the less developed northern part of the city.

Coordination Commission members were accompanied by Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes during the tour ©Alex Ferro/Rio 2016International Olympic Committee Coordination Commission members were accompanied by Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes during the tour ©Rio 2016



In the afternoon, the group visited the Olympic Park and Village in the Barra da Tijuca cluster to the south of Deodoro, where they inspected the construction work being carried out on 31 buildings, each with 17 storeys, to host athletes during the Games. 

The Commission also watched as metal structures were mounted in the construction of the International Broadcast Centre, before ending the tour at the Barra venue which will host the inaugural Olympic golf competition. 

On the final day of the Commission tomorrow, there will be a section on Paralympic integration before all of the smaller groups which met yesterday come together to report to the Commission as a whole.

Among the specific areas up for discussion will be the Rio 2016 engagement plan, which will include an education programme in April, a volunteer programme in August as well as discussion over the ticket selling process and the official Games mascots.

Final addresses will also be provided by Moutawakel and Nuzman.

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