Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Why did Rio de Janeiro win the 2016 Olympics bid?

The answer to the above question was provided by The Daily Show. As the following Not Safe For Work video shows, Rio's winning bid came as a result of one key factor: the hypnotic power of the Brazilian derriere. (Fast forward to about the 3:25 mark).
The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Chicago Nope
www.thedailyshow.com
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Political HumorRon Paul Interview

All laughs aside, there are some interesting tidbits to consider regarding Rio and the Games:
  • Since 2008, three of the five winning Olympic sites are in the developing BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries - Beijing (2008), Sochi (2014) and Rio (2016).
  • The breakdown of votes cast showed that Rio won easily in the second and final rounds. Yet in the first round Rio only placed in second with 26 votes (two behind Madrid but only eight places of last place Chicago.
  • Will the implementation of policies a la Rudy Giuliani in 1990s New York City eliminate Rio's security problems ahead of the Olympics?
Online Sources - The Daily Show, The Latin Americanist, olympic.org, Foreign Policy Passport, The New Republic

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