After the announcement made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) about Rio moving on to Phase 2 of the candidature to host 2016 Olympic Games, on Wednesday, June 4, in Athens, the President of the Brazilian Olympic Committee and of Rio 2016 Committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman, celebrated the recognition from the International Olympic Committee. “I would like to thank the IOC for its trust and recognition.  Today the IOC has made very clear that Rio has the potential to organize the Olympic Games. This is a very important moment not just for Brazilian sport, but to Brazil as a whole” Nuzman said. “We must also acknowledge the support provided by the three levels of government since the time of the mobilization towards the organization of the Pan American Games Rio 2007.”

In the opinion of BOC President, this is the right time for South America. “The IOC focuses on the universality of the Games and all the continents have a chance.” South America, which has never hosted the Olympic Games before, has been conquering a unique space because of the organization of large international events and Brazil is one of the leaders of this movement”,  Nuzman stated. “The time for the recognition of all the efforts made to the benefit of youths in South America has now come”, he added.

To Nuzman, the fact that  Brazil has moved on to Phase 2 evidences that the results of the Organization of the Pan American Games Rio 2007 have been evidenced and recognized. “The success of  RIO 2007 was critical to enable us to reach the condition of candidate city today. The IOC was relying on the evidences and recognition of what Rio 2007 really was and of the actions deployed by the three levels of government in order to further sport practice”, Nuzman explained.

Another important issue, in the opinion of BOC president, was rating assigned by the IOC to Brazilian bid venues and security”.  “In the report issued by IOC Rio’s venues were assigned higher rates than those in Chicago.  When could we ever have imagined that a Brazilian city could have better competition venues than a large American city like Chicago? This significant development results from the efforts made towards the delivery of the Pan American Games Rio 2007 with the construction of Olympic level venues,  Nuzman explained, underlining also the excellent security ratings.  “Our security was assigned a 7 rating and having security assigned a 7 in the world we live in today deserves applauses. This is yet another legacy of Rio 2007, when we had all the law enforcement agencies working in unison”, Nuzman reported.  “I believe, just like the IOC report states, that we will have to work harder on the issue of accommodations. We have this deficit in Rio, but we will be doing everything in order to make good progress on this requirement also”, Nuzman affirmed.

Also from Athens, Minister of Sport Orlando Silva stated that he had informed President Lula immediately after the result was announced.   According to the Minister, President Lula reaffirmed the commitment of the federal administration with the investments required by the Brazilian candidature. “The harmony between the three levels of government, which was already one of the strengths of RIO 2007 will be furthered for 2016 campaign.  Professionalism, transparency and consistent planning will be the hallmarks of the organization,  just like we had for the Pan American Games. The three levels of government will be dancing to the same music”, the Minister declared.

Governor Sergio Cabral, stated that Rio will not face any difficulty in setting up the infrastructure required to stage the Olympic Games.  “I am happy with the comparative report issued by the IOC. As to infrastructure, we have all the  conditions needed to achieve an excellent level in the airport, port and environmental areas. We will be prepared to face the challenge.  Rio de Janeiro is now living a unique moment in economic terms, being the destination of investments of more than R$ 20 billion from both the private and the public sectors. I see no obstacles that might prevent us from meeting the basic infrastructure requirements. During RIO 2007 the quality of both the services and the infrastructure offered was highly praised by all participants”, the governor reported.

In the opinion of Mayor Cesar Maia,  the strength of Rio’s bid to host the Olympic Games has been steadily increasing and this can be clearly evidenced by the ratings assigned by the IOC. “Ours is a growing and positive scenario and this was evidenced by IOC it its appraisal criteria. There was a definite improvement in the ratings assigned in prior attempts. This shows that the city and the bids have evolved”, Cesar Maia celebrated, adding that he has always been focusing on sport as a tool for social and economic development.

To the General Secretary of Rio 2016 Committee Carlos Roberto Osório, the Brazilian candidacy has a very good master plan.  “Our project is compact and 56% of the venues are fully ready because of the Pan American Games Rio 2007. We intend to offer compact Games with an optimum operational solution. We must now reevaluate some points of the candidature file and make them even more efficient”, Osório said.

Besides Rio three other cities Chicago, Tokyo, and Madrid  moved on to Phase 2 of the bidding to host 2016 Olympic Games. Now the candidate cities will be asked to prepare a candidature file with an in-depth description of their Olympic project describing in detail the 19 items of the candidature. This file will be submitted to the IOC by February 12, 2009. In the months of April and May an Evaluation Commission will be visiting the candidate cities to prepare an appraisal report that will constitute the basis for the voting of the 115 IOC members. The election of 2016 Games host city is scheduled for October 2, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Key dates of the candidature to host 2016 Olympic Games:

12 February,  2009 – Candidature file to be submitted to the IOC
April to May,  2009  -  IOC Evaluation Committee visits
October 2, 2009 - Election of 2016 Host City in Copenhagen, Denmark.