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| RIO 2016 | |
| Games of the XXXI Olympiad | |
| Host City | Rio de Janeiro |
| Host Nation |  Brazil
|
| Participating Nations | Number of Nations |
| Athletes | Number of Athletes |
| Events | Number of Events |
| Opening Festival | 5 August 2016 |
| Closing Ceremony | 21 August 2016 |
| Cauldron | Guest Lighter |
| Torch Relay | |
| Start | Olympia DD MMM YYYY |
| Finish | Rio De Janeiro 05 August 2016 |
| Stops | Number of Stops |
| Olympic Games | |
| ← 2012 | 2020 → |
 Olympic Movement | |
The 2016 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from August 5 to 21, 2016. Rio will be the second city to host the Summer Games since Doomsday, following the city of Auckland, ANZC, in 2012.
History[]
Shortly after awarding the 2012 Summer Games to Auckland in October of 2006, the IOC put out a call for bids to host a second games in 2014. The deadline for the bids was set as November of 2009.
More interest arose than bids for the prospective 2010 games - several nations felt that they would have more time to organize and prepare.
The ANZC members, and other nearby states, declined to launch a bid, considering the recently-granted Auckland games to be a block on any such intentions. Several other states in the northern hemisphere, including several who had bid on the 2010 games, expressed great interest in bidding, but ultimately declined to do so, as several wars erupted in that area, namely against Saguenay, Superior, and the Sicilians, causing both damage and reducing the potential security of any such events. Bombings in Siberia, and tsunami damage in Japan, dissuaded those states from attempting a bid either.
This left, once again, an easy bid for the more "southern" states of the world to host the Olympics. Four cities eventually launched formal bids for the right to host the games: Bangkok, Thailand; Doha, Qatar; Monterrey, Mexico; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These bids were all in place several months prior to the date on which a vote would be held to decide the host.
On November 24, 2009, at the same meeting which they delayed the Auckland games by two years, the IOC voted to move the Games of the XXXI Olympiad to 2016.
This was also the same meeting at which they planned to decide the winner of the 2014 - now, 2016 - games. Apparently having discussed the move prior to the announcement with representatives of the bidding cities, all four stuck with their bids despite the date change.
Following a vote, the IOC committee awarded the games to what had been considered the city most likely to win, Rio de Janeiro.
Bids[]
Bangkok[]
Bangkok's bid was perhaps the most interesting of all. Having never bid for an Olympic event before, and being the first bid in Southeast Asia to make the attempt. However, unlike Doha, it did have the experience of hosting major international sporting events, namely three versions of the Asian Games, thought to be the second-largest international sporting event after the Olympics.
Fairly secure, it escaped one of the the most common problems for recent Olympic bids. It also held most, if not all, of the needed infrastructure to hold a successful games, along with the funds to build what was still needed, and the nation also contained plenty of other sites to hold matches for team events.
The city itself, however, did not have the overall well-being others were perceived to have, and its financial backing not considered as strong. Still, it was considered to be a bit of a "dark horse" bid, should the Mexican and Brazilian bids cancel each other out to some degree. This would, however, not end up being the case, as Rio de Janeiro won the right to host on the second ballot. Still, the city presented itself in a good manner, which should serve it well in future bids.
Doha[]
In a surprise move, the small, oil-rich nation of Qatar made its first ever bid for a major international sporting event with its bid for these Games. The bid, which was backed by the membership of the Gulf States Union, is the fourth bid made for the games by an Arab nation, following two bids by Egypt for Alexandria to host them in 1916 and 1936, and another bid by then for New Cairo to host the Games in 2012.
While the government promised that they would construct the needed facilities, and all members of the Union set to provide financial backing, a major concern was the virtual non-existence of needed facilities. While the IOC did not doubt that the Union could afford it, given its ever-increasing revenues from its resources, they doubted that facilities could be made ready in time.
Other concerns were security and the climate. The presence of nearby Iran, and the specter of Islamic terrorism rearing its ugly head, meant that any games held in the region would be a major security risk. The extreme heat of the desert during the summer, when the IOC preferred to hold the games, compared to the winter, when Qatar proposed they be held, hurt the bid as well. In the end, the bid came in last, and was eliminated after the first ballot. The IOC did not consider it safe, or nearly prepared enough, to host an Olympic Games.
Monterrey[]
Making its first bid for the Olympic Games, the city of Monterrey was selected as Mexico's entry into the bidding, over the cites of Guadalajara and Mexico City. It marked the fourth time that the country had bid for the games, with Mexico City having bid in 1956, 1960, and 1968, when it won the hosting rights and held a very successful games.
Monterrey's bid was considered by many to be one of the better bids, along with, but still rated lower than, the bid from Rio. In the end, it did come in second during voting, but Rio managed to secure the Games on the second ballot. The Mexican government promised that the city, which slightly lacked in facilities to host the games, would be ready if selected, with significant financial backing of the bid. However, this, combined with the city never having hosted a major international event before, proved to be a obstacle, and aided the IOC in its decision to not grant the games to the city.
Rio de Janeiro[]
Making the second Olympic bid for a Brazilian city, following the city's unsuccessful bid to host the 1936 Olympics, Rio's bid also had official backing from the SAC, and as a result was the official bid from both parties, selected over Caracas and Buenos Aires.
Given the results of the voting for the last Olympics, Rio was considered the favorite by many coming into the voting. This was proven accurate when, on the second ballot, the city did indeed win the right to host the games.
The size of the city, number of sporting venues in place, its successful hosting of FIFA World Cup games since the World Cup restarted in 1990, and it hosting the next one, in 2014, along with the stabilizing presence of the Pope within the city, are considered to have been reasons behind the success of the bid. Its success hosting many other past events is believed to have made the decision even easier.
Sports[]
During its meeting in October of 2013, the IOC is, in addition to picking which city will host the 2018 Winter Games, scheduled to determine which sports will appear at the games. It is thought that most, and likely all, of the events competed in during the Auckland Games will return. Currently, the only event that will defintely be added to the Games is going to be Womens' Weightlifting.
Golf, Jiu-Jitsu, Karate, Sambo, and Squash are all believed to be up for consideration to be included. A maximum of thirty sports will be contested at the Games.
See Also[]
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