The world sports meet is on its way to the historical land of foot ball. The Brazilian capital city, Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympics. In the extremely competitive election that was held in the city of Copenhagen in Denmark, Rio de Janeiro came up us the winner, leaving behind Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid.

This is the first time ever in world history that Olympics is being hosted from a venue in South America. It was the Chinese capital city of Beijing, which hosted the last Olympics. The Brazilian population is indeed celebrating their victory over their formidable opponents which included

1. Chicago (USA)
2. Madrid (Spain)
3. Tokyo (Japan).
   

This long awaited announcement came from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) president, Jacques Rogge.

The American president, Barack Obama himself had tried his best to win the Olympic venue for Chicago. Barack Obama who arrived at Copenhagen well before the announcement of the Olympic venue had personally requested the world nations to favor Chicago. However, Chicago and Tokyo were out in the first round of voting itself. There are reports that Chicago received the least number of votes. The loss of Athletic supremacy in the Beijing Olympics followed by this loss in the battle for Olympic venue will haunt USA for quite some time.

It was the 1996 Atlanta Olympics that went against Chicago. The outcome of the 2016 Olympic venue election was also an announcement, that 20 years was too short a period for the USA to claim another Olympic venue. The 1992 Olympics in the Spanish city of Barcelona and the 2008 Olympics held in the Asian continent went against the favor of Madrid and Tokyo respectively. Out of the 107 member countries in IOC, 97 of them have voting rights.

The Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva himself and many celebrities including the various football heroes were actively involved in promoting Rio de Janeiro. As the venue announcement came, the Brazilian representatives were overwhelmed with emotions.

“For the others, this is just an athletic meet; however for us this is an incomparable opportunity. Rio’s win indicates that Olympics belong to all the humanity. You will not regret giving us this opportunity.”

– Lula da Silva said after the venue announcement.

The Brazilian population celebrated Rio’s victory with slogans and samba dances along the streets and beaches. Brazil will be hosting the 2014 soccer world cup followed by the 2016 Olympics.

Famous natural beaches in  Rio de Janeiro are

1. Copacabana
2. Ipanema
3. Leblon.

The Main tourist attractions in Rio  are

• The City of Samba
• Christ Redeemer
• Sugar Loaf
• Ipanema
• Copacabana
• Tijuca Forest

Main Airports in Rio de Janeiro are

1. Galeão - Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport
2. Santos Dumont Airport
3. Jacarepaguá Airport

Top 5-star Hotels in Rio de Janeiro

1. Copacabana Palace Hotel Rio De Janeiro
2. Inter Continental Hotel Rio de Janeiro
   
3. JW Marriott Hotel Rio De Janeiro
   

In 2012, when the Olympic beacon moves to the land of samba betas, what will Rio give the sports enthusiasts? Let’s wait for another seven years.