All of the sports venues proposed in Rio de Janeiro’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games have now been officially approved by the relevant international sports federations. Rio 2016 has received the 26 official approvals, which will form part of the city’s Candidature File, to be delivered to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by 12 February.

The IOC requires that all facilities in candidate cities be approved by the international federations of each respective sport. Representatives of the federations praised various aspects of the Rio 2016 plans, particularly their compactness, the functionality of the venues, the legacy of the Rio 2007 Pan American Games, and the beauty of the locations chosen for open-air competitions.

Plans for the venues built for the Rio 2007 Pan American Games – the João Havelange Stadium, the Barra Velodrome, Maria Lenk Aquatic Park and the Rio Arena – are amongst those approved.

“This confirms that Rio de Janeiro has Olympic standard sports facilities and that the Rio 2016 plan is well conceived and meets the expectations of the international federations. The facilities will excite athletes, officials and spectators,” said Carlos Arthur Nuzman, president of Rio 2016.

Rio de Janeiro will build two new venues to complement existing infrastructure. In Barra da Tijuca, the Olympic Training Center, which will also serve in legacy-mode as a center of excellence for the training and development of Brazilian, South American and African athletes and the X Park, an extreme sports center to be built in Deodoro, a superb new facility to encourage more young people to participate in sport.

Full details of the Rio 2016 Games Plan will be published following the formal submission of the bid book to the IOC.