Speaking ahead of the One Year To Go milestone until the Paralympics, due to be marked by a Paralympic festival alongside the iconic Lagoa on September 7, Sir Philip insists that "significant" work is being done to tackle the ongoing concerns over pollution levels at the venues. 

Last week, Germany's 49er class competitor Erik Heil, third with team-mate Thomas Ploessel in the recent sailing test event on Guanabara Bay, revealed ihe was told by a Berlin hospital he had been infected by multi-resistant germs.

This followed South Korean windsurfer Wonwoo Cho being taken to hospital during the week-long test event, with his coach Danny Ok claiming the cause was "probably from the water" at Guanabara Bay, and 15 members of the United States rowing team being taken ill during that sport's test event last month on the Lagoa.

Sir Philip remains assured that the problems will be eradicated. 

"This is a legacy for the future of Rio, to clean up Guanabara Bay, and that’s something that will be achieved," he told insidethegames.

"I think that following the World Health Organisation guidelines, which are based on bacterial testing, there’s been significant action taken by local authorities that surround Guanabara Bay and closing of landfills, reducing industrial pollution, increasing water treatment works, reducing floating waste and recently an $11 million (£7.2 million/€9.8 million) tender for eco-barriers.

"So I think there’s a lot of work being done and I think that we can be quite confident at this stage that the competition venues both in Guanabara Bay and in the Lagoa will be fit for purpose come the Games in one year time."

Asked whether this is something that the IPC is monitoring, Sir Philip replied: "Our different teams are regularly in Rio and when they’re not in Rio, they’re in contact with the Organising Committee.

"This is one of the key areas that we’re in contact with Rio 2016 about."

The One Year To Go celebrations are set to take place on the same day that tickets for the Paralympics go on sale.

A record total of 3.3 million tickets for the 23 sports on the Paralympic sports programme are due to go on sale, which if all sold will easily surpass the record 2.8 million bought for the previous Paralympics at London in 2012.

Sir Philip claimed he is "very confident" that the three million mark can be broken, saying: "I think that one the key things is the Brazilian Paralympic Committee and its incredible team of athletes.

"They’ve just come back from Toronto after heading the medal table at the Parapan American Games and as we know back from London [2012], back from Beijing [2008], back from Sochi [2014], to have a strong national team performance really does bring the Games to the notice of so many people."

On September 7 last year, Sir Philip expressed his belief that Rio 2016 will continue to build on the momentum generated for the Paralympic Movement at London 2012 and Sochi 2014 and his opinion has not wavered since.

"Not at all," he said.

"In fact, I’m more confident than ever that that will be achieved.

"I think if you go back even beyond Sochi and London that this has been a feature; the aspiration of the Paralympic Movement.

"It [the Paralympics] has this positive effect to bring about change and to bring about change for everyone, not just for people with an impairment but for changing perceptions about what people can do with what they have and not worrying too much about what they don’t have."

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