J21 Tube's video: After the crowds have gone Haunting images show dilapidated Olympic venues in Rio just SEVEN MONTHS

After the crowds have gone: Haunting images show dilapidated Olympic venues in Rio just SEVEN MONTHS after the event - despite promises the games would provide a lasting legacy Shocking pictures show arenas used during the Olympic and Paralympic Games last year in disrepair An estimated $12 billion was spent on the Games, with nearly the same being spent on the 2014 World Cup The area has been subject to legal ownership battles and unpaid bills since the triumphant event last summer International Olympic Committee published action plan earlier this week outlining the future of the venues A drained pool filled with mud, crumbled roads and overgrown plots of grass. These eerie images aren't from a post-apocalyptic movie, they are photographs of several Olympic venues in Rio - just seven months after the games finished. Despite promises from the organisers that the billion-dollar site would be used to benefit Brazil's citizens, it remains deserted and dilapidated. The country remains in a deep economic and political crisis following the games and critics believe the money spent on the games could have been better spent on developing infrastructure in the country. What was once the home to the world's best athletes has now been subject to high levels of crime, including looting and vandalism, police said. The world-famous Maracana Stadium, which also hosted the World Cup final in 2014, is abandoned, the once-luscious green pitch far from the top playing surface it once was. In the aquatics centre the pool has been drained - a far cry from the impressive venue it was last summer. While the venues slowly decay each day, there have been several legal battles over unpaid bills and ownership of the stadium. Light, the city's electricity company, restored power to the stadium last month after it said the stadium's managers finally paid the 1.3 million reais ($424,670) owed for the months of November, December and January. The company added it was still due 1.8 million reais from the Rio 2016 organising committee, which the event managers said they would pay. Four of the new arenas in the main Olympic Park failed to find private-sector management, and ownership was passed to the federal government. Another new arena will be run by the cash-strapped city with Brazil stuck in its deepest recession in decades. It is thought hosting the Olympics cost the Brazilian government $3 billion, with the rest of the massive bill coming from other sources. The overall cost of the games is estimated to be around $12 billion. On Thursday, International Olympic Committee published an action plan outlining the future of what each venue holds. It said the training pools, Handball arena and the International Broadcasting Centre are either being dismantled currently or will be dismantled in the near future and their materials will be used for the construction of other sites. The statement added: 'The five temporary swimming pools were reallocated to other sports facilities in Brazil, including Manaus; Salvador; Palmas/Tocantins; and Guaratinguetá/São Paulo. A fifth pool has been transferred to the Army Physical Education School in Urca, Rio de Janeiro, a sport complex extensively used by National Federations and COB for training and preparation.' The Hockey sites, the aquatic centre and the Rio Olympic Arena are said to be used for training by athletes and university students for tournaments. The Via Olimpica and Velodrome are going to be opened to the public, while the Canoe Slalom venue and Tennis Centre have played host to other sporting events since the games. For the Cariocas Arenas, the statement says: 'Funded using private resources, Arena 1 (basketball) and 2 (Olympic training centre) reverted to the Ministry of Sports in December 2016. Arena 3 now comes under City Hall and will become a public school with a strong emphasis on sport education.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4328456/Haunting-images-dilapidated-Olympic-venues-Rio.html Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook