The Paralympic Games, set to kick off next month in Rio de Janeiro, will not be as grand as originally planned. Due to an ongoing funding crisis, the Games will face “major budget cuts,” the International Paralympic Committee announced at a press conference on Friday. “Never before in the 56-year history of the Games have we faced circumstances like this,” IPC President Sir Philip Craven said. The first – and by far the biggest issue – is the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee did not deliver all the funding it promised to the Paralympic Games. As of Wednesday, only 12 per cent of the tickets to the Paralympic Games had been sold, organizers said.

Source: National Post August 19, 2016 17:39 UTC