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Friday, October 2, 2009

2016 Olympic Announcement: Rio de Janeiro to Host Summer Games


Rio de Janeiro has been chosen as the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics, beating Madrid in the final round of voting.

Rio's bid will mark the first time the Olympics will take place in South America.

Rio beat out Madrid -- considered something of a long shot -- after potential front-runner Chicago was eliminated from contention earlier this afternoon. Most people in Chicago believed that President Obama and Oprah Winfrey's support for the games in the Windy City would help to propel it to selection.

However, Chicago was dropped from the list and Daly Plaza in downtown is now a very somber scene and very much unlike the attitude in Rio you see above.

"I've never really had a disappointment like this," said Ken Rudd, a 33-year-old salesman from Evergreen Park. "This is one of the saddest things I've ever seen."

Katie Suitor, a 28-year-old social worker, was equally surprised, saying that she had already signed up to work as a volunteer for the games.

"I was looking forward to having the world come and see just how great Chicago is," she said.

In Rio, the celebrations are beyond abundant: people and music streaming through the streets, many of the residents going shirtless as they enjoy the national recognition and attention that their city will receive.

In fact, the "Carnival Part Two" is so loud that CNN's correspondents have had to evacuate from the Copacabana Beach in order for the US bound studio hosts to hear them.

Copacabana was immediately filled with glitter, Brazilian flags and "absolute euphoria" upon the announcement.

Rio had pushed hard for a long time to receive the Olympic bid, with Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urging the Olympic Committee to give South America its first ever shot at the international games.

"It is a time to address this imbalance," Silva said. "It is time to light the Olympic cauldron in a tropical country."

The Olympic Committee apparently believed Silva's pleas to be strong enough, and awarded Rio the chance to showcase itself on an international stage.

President Obama, speaking on Air Force One while returning to Washington, stated that he was "quite disappointed" with the committee's rejection of Chicago's Olympic bid.Olm

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