Rio de Janeiro’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games received a boost yesterday from the 26 countries participating in the XI General Assembly of the Americas Sports Council (CADE), which took place in Panama. A motion supporting Rio’s bid was signed following a presentation of the city’s plans by Wadson Ribeiro, Executive Secretary of Brazil’s Sports Ministry, with the participation of Mário Cilenti, Rio 2016’s International Relations Director.

Ribeiro noted that the Olympic Games can represent new opportunities for the continent and developing countries in general. “The 2016 Olympic Games will not only be for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. They will also be for South America and the whole Latin American people. As a result, I request the support of our brother countries. It is essential for Latin American countries to unite for South America to receive the Olympic Games for the first time. This will be an historic victory and will open doors for the continent,” he said.

Mário Cilenti gave an overview of Rio 2016 plans and spoke of the benefits the Olympic Games in Rio can bring for Latin American countries. One of the themes was the Olympic Training Center, which will be built in Barra da Tijuca, and will be capable of hosting 22 sports. “The Olympic Training Center will work to develop elite sport in Brazil and Latin America. The project will strengthen Latin American sport and help the region’s countries to win more Olympic medals,” explained Cilenti.

Andrés Cárdenas, Rio 2016’s International Relations Manager, and José Leite, Sports Ministry International Adviser, also took part in the event. The Americas Sports Council brings together representatives of governmental sports organizations in the Americas to discuss themes related to the development of sport. The candidate cities to host the 2015 Pan American Games (Lima, Bogota and Toronto) also presented their proposals.