Rio de Janeiro to Host 2016 Olympic Games
As the music wound down in the conference hall in Copenhagen, tension filled the air. Then the President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge acknowledged the effort put in by the cities that vied to host the games to be staged in seven years.
"I would like to thank the four candidate cities for their excellent bids and for their dedication to the Olympic games," said Jacques Rogge. "Your projects are of the highest quality. Your vision for the Olympic movement is inspiring. Thank you for your hard work, energy and commitment to sport and its values."
But as Rogge said, there can only be one winner and with that, there was nothing left to do but to open the envelope and reveal the 2016 host.
"Tonight, I have the honor to announce that the games of the 31st Olympiad are awarded to the city of [open envelope] Rio de Janeiro, " he said.
The cheers that erupted in Copenhagen were joined by the cheers of crowds in Rio de Janeiro that gathered for the historic announcement.
Nearly 50,000 jumped and shouted in the Carnival-like atmosphere on Rio's Copacabana beach where two huge TV screens were erected.
They knew that for the first time ever, a South American city would be hosting the summer games.
The party is expected to go on well into the night.
It is the fourth time Rio de Janeiro has gone for the games. It came up short in 1936, 2004 and 2012.
For Chicago, Madrid and Tokyo, the message from Rio is do not give up and keep on trying.
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