British companies have won £600m (US$846.8m, €769.2m) worth of business from Brazil since 2013 as a result of the nation hosting several major sporting events in quick succession.

Rio de Janeiro is getting ready to stage the Olympic and Paralympic Games this year after Brazil hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the flurry of sporting activity has opened the door for 50 UK-based companies to win contracts.

Talking at today’s (23 February) UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) Global Sports Projects Conference, UKTI head of Sports Team, Marcelo Tavares, revealed that there was still opportunities for British companies to do business in advance of the Games, and that he was hoping for an overall outcome of £750m-£800m (US$1bn, €961.5m to US$1.1bn, €1bn) for British firms by the time the Games are finished.

The 50 firms have won 70 contracts in the fields of masterplanning, design and engineering, ticketing and hospitality, temporary structures and Gamers services. Only the US and Germany have won more business than British firms.

Tavares talked through the remaining opportunities with delegates at London’s Lancaster House, which include sports equipment, electrical installation, hospitality and security.

“In some areas we think UK companies have very good experience and are very competitive, and should be bidding for business in Rio,” said Tavares.

During a panel session following his address, Tavares discussed the readiness of Rio to hold such an event, and conceded that there were “specific challenges” such as the current economic downturn Brazil was experiencing, as well as infrastructure issues such as excessive traffic.

However, Bill Sweeney, chief executive of the British Olympic Association (BOA), said he felt the city would be ready in terms of facilities being complete, although moving between the four venues clusters in dotted around Rio would be “the main challenge”.

He added that the Olympic Village that has been built to house the athletes was “probably the best Olympic Village that has ever been put together”, and that the BOA was “not concerned” with issues such as the Zika virus which has broken out on South America, specifically Brazil.

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