The Rio bay where the Brazil Olympics’ sailing competitions will be held won’t be clean for the games in 2016, the city’s mayor has said.

The city had promised to clean up the Guanabara Bay and reduce pollution by 80%, but the mayor admitted that it would not meet that target.

Sailors that have visited the site have described it as a dump, and reported dodging waste including discarded furniture, floating dog carcasses and even human corpses. But the country has said that the events will be held in a less polluted part of the water, outside of the bay or at its entrance.

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The New York Times has described how Thomas Low-Beer, a Brazilian Olympic hopeful who sails in the bay, shuddered when recalling how he crashed into a submerged sofa and was capsized into the bay.

Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Guanabara Bay ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics Show all 6 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. In pictures: Guanabara Bay ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics 1/6 Guanabara Bay A dog sits along the shoreline of the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay Getty Images 2/6 Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay is seen in a section littered with debris on June 19, 2012 Getty Images 3/6 Guanabara Bay Boats float along the shoreline of the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay Getty Images 4/6 Guanabara Bay Rubbish building up along the shores Getty Images 5/6 Guanabara Bay An abandoned drainage pipe sits on the edge of polluted Guanabara Bay Getty Images 6/6 Guanabara Bay Trash floats on a polluted water channel that flows into the Guanabara Bay on 15 March 2014 AP 1/6 Guanabara Bay A dog sits along the shoreline of the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay Getty Images 2/6 Guanabara Bay Guanabara Bay is seen in a section littered with debris on June 19, 2012 Getty Images 3/6 Guanabara Bay Boats float along the shoreline of the polluted waters of Guanabara Bay Getty Images 4/6 Guanabara Bay Rubbish building up along the shores Getty Images 5/6 Guanabara Bay An abandoned drainage pipe sits on the edge of polluted Guanabara Bay Getty Images 6/6 Guanabara Bay Trash floats on a polluted water channel that flows into the Guanabara Bay on 15 March 2014 AP

Millions of litres of untreated sewage are dumped in the bay every day, and locals tend to avoid bathing from the beaches inside it. The city has built new self-contained beaches for residents to swim in.

"I am sorry that we did not use the games to get Guanabara Bay completely clean," Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, told a press conference.

The bay will see its first events this summer, in the first official test event for the Rio games. Britain has announced a squad of 30 that will compete across all 10 events, in the same courses designated for 2016.