Rio looks to host Olympics
Brazil is set to bid to host the 2016 Olympics.
The Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has given his backing to a bid from Rio de Janeiro in official documents to be handed over to the International Olympic Committee.
Rio faces tough opposition for the right to host the competition from Chicago, Doha, Dubai, Tokyo, Madrid and Prague. However, the fact that no Latin American country has hosted the event since Mexico City in 1968 should weigh in the Brazilian city’s favour.
Rio previously bid for the right to host the 2008 Olympics, but since then a number of major improvements to the city for the Pan American Games have been put in place that should bring it up to the necessary standards.
A final decision on the games will come in 2009 in Copenhagen.
As with London, if Rio won the Olympics, a property boom could well be expected.
