The Olympics are ours

Rio de Janeiro has been chosen to host the 2016 Olympics. Brazil's victory is a victory for the entire continent. For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has chosen a South American city to host the world's largest sporting event. The announcement was made last Friday by IOC President Jacques Rogge in Copenhagen, Denmark.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and ministers of state, as well as the governor and mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Sérgio Cabral and Eduardo Paes, respectively, defended Brazil's candidacy. "After we've been through so much, you think we'll never get emotional again. But today was a sacred day for me. If I died now, life would already have been worth living," said the president, who personally committed to the country's success. In the final stretch of the race, Rio competed with Madrid, Spain. Chicago, United States, and Tokyo, Japan, were the first cities eliminated. "We are among the other largest economies in the world," the president stated.

The choice of Rio is also recognition of the country's unquestionable moment, in which democratic, political and economic stability prevails.

Development - The hosting of the Games represents a legacy of development for the city and for Brazil, with social, sporting and economic transformation in Rio and the consequent generation of positive impacts throughout the country.

Infrastructure projects essential to the event's success are already included in action plans for Rio and Brazil. Studies indicate that the Games will generate a R$90 billion impact on the Brazilian economy. The investments could create over 2016 direct and indirect jobs annually from this year through 120, and approximately 130 annually between 2017 and 2027. And 97% of the funds invested in the Games will return to the public coffers through tax collection.

Published by the Secretariat of Social Communication of the Presidency of the Republic\ No. 903 - Brasília, October 2, 2009 \