Rio to help cover deficit of local Olympic committee - mayor

Mayor Eduardo Paes (C) carries the Olympic torch just after it was transported across Guanabara Bay from Niteroi to Rio de Janeiro three days before the official start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 3, 2016. Beth Santos/Courtesy of Rio de Janeiro City Hall/Handout via REUTERS

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Rio de Janeiro's City Hall will help cover the deficit of the local Olympic organising committee if necessary, Mayor Eduardo Paes said in an interview on Tuesday, going back on assurances that the committee would be entirely privately funded.

The local organizer, known as Rio 2016, is a private company responsible for running the Olympics and Paralympics using funds from ticket sales, sponsorship, merchandise and broadcast proceeds passed on by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).