Rio de Janeiro to bid for 2016 Olympics

Rio De Janeiro, April 30 (Xinhua) The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro is gearing up to bid for hosting the 2016 Olympic Games after the July 13-29 Pan-American Games, said the city's prefect Cesar Maia.

The Brazil Olympic Committee had previously put forward Rio as a candidate for the 2004 and 2012 Olympics but was unsuccessful. It has until August to announce a new candidate. The International Olympic Committee will take submissions for the 2016 Games until Sep 15 and must announce its decision by October 2009.

Chicago, Tokyo and Prague have already made their candidacy public; Madrid, Doha and Istanbul have said they are preparing bids, while New Delhi recently pulled out and Rome looks likely to do the same.

In an attempt to strengthen the city's bid for the Games, Maia wants the city's metro rail services to be extended to the west, and other transport linking north to south and north to west.

Plans are also afoot to decontaminate the city's Guanabara Bay, which will host the Pan American Games' sailing events.

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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