BRAZIL, RIO DE JANEIRO NEXT HOST Olympic Games 2016

Rio de Janeiro has been chosen to host the Olympic Games by the International Olympic Committee.

Chicago was eliminated at the first round of voting between the four bidding cities, with Tokyo the second city to drop out.

Finally, in a straight head-to-head between Rio and Madrid, the Brazilian city was chosen to host the Games, the first time the competition has ever been hosted in South America. It is a double boost for Brazil, given that the country will also host the Fifa World Cup in 2014.

It was the first time that the city has made it to the candidature phase of the bidding process, after four previous failed bids for the 1936, 1940, 2004 and 2012 Games.

"We are now ready for the Olympics," Carlos Roberto Osório, the Rio 2016 bid’s secretary general, told SportsPro before the vote. "We’ve proved it with the Pan-American games, which we knew was going to be a challenge for us, and the result was that international federations, the IOC and the press gave us 100 per cent of approval in saying it was the best Pan-Am games ever. And we’ve proved it with this project."

Brazilian Olympic Committee president, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, added: "We don’t want a gift: we are ready to organise the Games. The motivation to have the Games in Rio, in Brazil, for the first time, is to have the best athletes in the world in our country and to be included in the Olympic circuit for international sport. It’s a sporting country; the whole of Brazil loves sport."

Osório was positive from day one about the impact the 2014 World Cup hosting would have on Rio's bid. "There is a huge synergy between the two events," he insisted. "It will deliver infrastructure, trains, public services and ready personnel. It is a real positive that Brazil is hosting the World Cup two years before.”

Osório also vowed that the competition would be available to all in Brazil. "We are going to charge reasonable prices, and we are not going to package highly demanded tickets with less popular tickets, which people won’t go to," he said. "The Games need to be affordable to all Brazilians. We don’t just want a Games that is for a segment of society; we want a Games for all of society. So, part of the money the Government are putting into the organising committee can be seen as a subsidy for the ticket revenue."

Rio is looking to charge between US$200 and US$1,000 for the opening ceremony (compared to US$520 to US$1,645 for Chicago) and between US$30 and US$150 for prime events. "Our ticket revenue predictions are the lowest for all of the cities, and this was a tactical decision so the Games are accessible. This is the Olympic spirit and we want the Games to be inclusive," said Osório.

Despite Chicago's first-round exit, the USA factor is believed to have played its part. The extent to which the IOC’s media contracts play a role in the final decision has always been shrouded in some mystery. What is clear, however, is that the American television schedules are the most significant. It follows that any Games falling into the same or similar time zones are potentially the most profitable. That was, of course, a major advantage to Chicago’s bid, but also to Rio's, as Nuzman pointed out to SportsPro in the summer.

"The time difference from the USA to Rio is just one hour," he said. "This is very, very strong for us. After Beijing, which was on the opposite side of the world, and even with London and the rest of Europe, there will be a difference again."

The first man to offer his congratulations was the IOC president. "I would like to congratulate the city of Rio de Janeiro on its election as the host of the 2016 Olympic Games," said Jacques Rogge. "Rio de Janeiro presented the IOC with a very strong technical bid, built upon a vision of the Games being a celebration of the athletes and sport, as well as providing the opportunity for the city, region and country to deliver their broader long-term aspirations for the future.

"This call to 'live your passion' clearly struck a chord with my fellow members and we now look forward to seeing Rio de Janeiro stage the first Olympic Games on the continent of South America. Well done, Rio!"