Spotlight on Rio De Janeiro

Unlike the other host cities in the past (and the failed bids for 2016 games), Rio does not intend on spending huge sums of cash on a Olympic village and various stadiums – only to be left to gather dust after the Olympics. Rather the Olympic village and all associated Olympic venues are part of Rio’s long term goal to re-brand itself as the sports headquarters of South America and to offer its many national teams and youth groups various venues for events, games and public use. Thus the IOC was persuaded by Brazil that all investments towards the games in Rio would help develop the city further and is not a burden to the city. Unlike Athens where most of the venues build of the Olympics are abandoned, Brazil promises to put them to good use. And unlike the other cities that bid for the games, Rio de Janeiro will already have many of these venues and transportation and housing complexes already build and in use thanks to the FIFA world cup in 2014 and the previous Pan American games as well as the numerous sporting competitions going on throughout the city.

What thrills the IOC and the world about Rio more than anything is the local populace. Bringing the games to South America and to Brazil for the first time means they are opening a new opportunity for the Olympic fever to spread throughout a new continent previously untapped by the games. The growing rate of Brazilian economy and the strong influence Brazil has in the region and in the world means a confident source of income and a viable security establishment to dispel any doubts about safety in Rio. With a young vibrant population and most of them “crazed” sports fans, the IOC hopes to use Rio to reinvigorate the Olympics and to solve some major cash flow problems from the large market that is going to be opened to them. Thus Rio became the number one choice in the minds for the host city status – and a marvelous city in their eyes, all to the joy and excitement of the millions in Brazil and in Rio de Janeiro.