Update (1:45pm):
Rio de Janeiro will be the first South American city to host the Olympics.The following is video of the momentous announcement and the boisterous reaction from the Rio contingent and the celebration in Brazil:
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Moments ago, International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge announced that Rio will host the 2016 Summer Games. The historic decision brought jubilation not only on the beaches of Copacabana but across the Americas.
More to come later!
Original Post:
Rio de Janeiro’s road to winning the 2016 Olympics bid has gotten a lot easier.In a shocking result, odds-on favorite Chicago was eliminated in the first round of voting for the 2016 Summer Games. President Barack Obama, talk show host Oprah, and basketball legend Michael Jordan where part of the Chicago contingent that went to Copenhagen to try to convince International Olympic Committee (IOC) brass that the Olympics should be in the “Windy City.” Yet the bid may’ve been outmaneuvered by the other finalists and hampered by questions over financing. (According to Spain’s Antena 3, the Madrid and Rio campaigns colluded to convince the IOC to eliminate Chicago early).
The Chicago upset thus opens the doors for the Brazilian metropolis of Rio de Janeiro to become the first South American city to host the Olympics. An estimated 100,000 have crammed Rio’s Copacabana beach with the hopes that their city will be the epicenter of the Olympics in seven years time.
Rio sent its own heavy hitters to the IOC conference including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who gave an impassioned speech earlier this morning:
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva told IOC members Friday it was time to address the "imbalance" and give Rio the 2016 Games. He said Brazil had earned its chance to show the games belonged to people of all continents.Rio’s bid is not without problems, however; high crime rates and infrastructure problems are surely on the minds of the IOC members.
"I honestly believe it is Brazil's time," Silva said through a translator. "It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country"…
Silva, speaking in Portuguese, addressed IOC members as "dear friends," and invited them to boost Brazil's self-esteem and inspire 400 million South American people.
"Rio is ready," Silva said. "Give us this chance and you will not regret it, be sure."
Online Sources- AP, New York Times, Washington Post, Wikipedia
5 comments:
there is a reason why south america has never had Olympic games or a world cup. Lmao i wonder how many people will get raped or robbed. It will also be a good time to be a prostitute in rio LMAO. brazilians are crazy and out of control as well as most other countries in south america. hense the reason for not ever having any big event if you havent caught on yet.
Er.. South America hasn't had an Olympics yet but there were World Cups in 1930, 1950, 1962 and 1974 (Uruguay, Brazil, Chile and Argentina)
If we widen the net to include the rest of Latin America then we'll see that Mexico also hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986.
Czarny:
Latin America has hosted an Olympics before - 1968 in Mexico City.
In addition, the World Cup will be held in Brazil in 2014. A mere two years before the Olympics are to be in Rio.
Congratulations to Rio de Janeiro for bringing the Olympics to South America for the first time.
This is an obvious decision...who would choose Chicago over Rio De Janero?? wtf
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