A silver lining in Rio despite pre-Games gloom and doom

An aerial view shows the Christ the Redeemer statue with the Maracana stadium, where the opening cermony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be held, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/Files

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - It's as predictable as the fixed, two-year calendar for the Olympics themselves.

Before every edition of the Games – winter or summer, rich or developing world – a litany of complaints, criticisms and doomsday predictions play out in the news media and among foreigners and host country locals alike.