Update (1:45pm):The following is video of the momentous announcement and the boisterous reaction from the Rio contingent and the celebration in Brazil:
Update (12:55pm): Rio de Janeiro will be the first South American city to host the Olympics.
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.
"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."
Rio’s bid is not without problems, however; high crime rates and infrastructure problems are
surely on the minds of the IOC members.
Online Sources- AP, New York Times, Washington Post, Wikipedia