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Rio wins bid for 2016 Olympics; Tokyo eliminated in 2nd round

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Congratulations to Rio and Olympics fans world over - J-tv is silent- a normal day here in Japan as if Tokyo was not contesting. H.I.S. Hatoyama Ishihara Shintaro failed as expected.

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I'm glad Rio got it. I'm surprised that the Olympics have never been held in South America before. I hope it goes well for them and is good for their country.

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Congratulations, Rio!!

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Tokyo bid's was 3rd favourite among IOC voters.

Tokyo did better than Chicago among IOC voters.

There is only 2 person from USA among IOC voters.

IOC members are all top star athletes of past and top sport officals in many national/international sport bodies.

They voted Rio,because South America,did not have olympics even once,I think South Americans got their turn at last.

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Good for Rio. It's nice to see the olympics in South America. I can't remember the last time they were there.

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Good for Rio. It's nice to see the olympics in South America. I can't remember the last time they were there.

Thats probably because they've never been there before.

On a related note, the loss of face by Obama over this issue is amazing. Talk about embarrassing. Making a personal appeal, and getting tossed out first. Happy Rio got it, though I'd have preferred it to have been in Tokyo instead.

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I guess Ishihara will have to come up with some other pretext to demolish Kabukicho.

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sigh ... there goes regular TV programing for the next 100 days. All we will talk about is how this debacle could have happened. And of course the customary Obama lost sooooo much face sigh sigh sigh.

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I wonder how much was spent on the campaign?

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I'm surprised that the Olympics have never been held in South America before.

It's because they lack management skills. With all the new massive oil discoveries in Brazil, everybody thinks they've struck it rich.

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Good on ya Rio!!! Congrats to all my Portagee bros in Shizouka. You know who you are. Now, just how long will it take for Obama to bounce back from this setback? And how long are we going to hear the whining from Ishihara and Co.? Hope this is the final setback for old 'blinky.'

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I guess Ishihara will have to come up with some other pretext to demolish Kabukicho.

Ha,ha,ha! I really dislike him, he's quite ill-mannered, from what I've been seeing on the tube the past few days.

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I am happy for Rio and all my Brazilian and S. American friends!

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I cant believe Obama's personal story didn't win over the IOC.

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Hope Rio enjoys the Olympics. Happy that South America finally got it.

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Ishiohara is the antithesis of the image his city tried to present itself as last night. Hopefully this will lead to his rapid departure.

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Winger humor:

"The Ego Has Landed"

Yeah,real funny, if you are the type that think the Drudge Report offers real news and intelligent commentary.

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From what I read, though everyone was saying it's between Chicago and Rio, it was actually Rio's Olympics to lose. The IOC is all about "spreading the love" (case in point - Beijing) - and since the Olympics hasn't taken place in South America yet, it was due. Plus, the US Olympic committee pissing off the IOC is what landed Chicago in 4th.

But regardless, congrats to Rio!!! It's going to be one hell of a party. Now, I, unfortunately have to hear nut-cases whine about "how bad this will hurt Obama," though it has nothing to do with him.

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atari mae Tokyo had no chance of winning. i loved seeing the faces of the Japanese all disappointed after the announcement. Ishihara can go to hell. Serves him right.

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ironchef

Why would you love seeing the faces of the Japanese people who were disappointed? Is it possible that anyone can be so spiteful, to say nothing of bad sportsmanship? Generally, such reactions are the sign of a sick mind.

Moderators: Reader, please keep the discussion civil.

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Great news. Surprised about Madrid being the number 2 and not Chicago though.

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I knew that from the beginning Rio would win and there would be no chance for Chicago, Tokyo. Anyway no baseball, softball games in 2016. No fun!

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National politicians should stay out of it. It is a shame to have Obama and Hatoyama campaign for a city. Looks like bribery. Brings shame on the Olympic spirit. Mayors, go for it. I wanted Rio. Hope I get to go, Good Lord willing.

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Congrats to Rio! I knew it from the beginning -- errr... better to say I hoped and figured they would get it.

‘‘There is a winner and a loser and this time we couldn’t win but we have also gained something. We have to figure out how to go for the 2020 Olympics.’’

So they're going to waste our taxes AGAIN??

I see that some of the people vying for Tokyo are already making excuses ('Madrid stayed in because of sympathy!', etc.), and it's a real shame, particularly when even Blinky's speech was pretty decent.

Moderator: Please do not refer to Gov Ishihara as "Blinky." Such expressions lower the level of discussion.

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Hey Obama, no we can't!

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if you read local papers from the other candidate cities, you can see the people bash Mayor Daley, or Lulu I am disappointed, feel tokyo may not get another shot in my lifetime, so many cities waiting for their chance on the stage Cairo, Dubai, etc

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Congratulations to Rio. It is good to see the Olympics finally going to South America.  

With regard to the Tokyo bid, it is obvious that Japan is still in the doghouse with the IOC with regard to the Nagano affair, when Japan promised to pay for literally everything (team air fares, etc to Japan), and then tried to back out of its promises after the games were awarded. This created a lot of bad blood with a lot of IOC members. Obviously, some people have very long memories.

Furthermore, Tokyo's loss should be a cue for everybody's favorite xenophobic racist to resign as the Governor of Tokyo. He did not just blow a heap of money on the banking disaster, he now has the albatross of wasting taxpayers' money on an unsuccessful Olympic bid around his neck. It is time to go Shintaro, but before you leave it would be nice to have a detailed account costing of how all the Olympic funds were spent.

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Congrats to Rio getting the Olympic nod.

Also, a tip o' the hat to Tokyo for getting past the 1st round. The city impressed the IOC enough to get that far. Job well done.

Though I normally would be backing an American city for an Olympic venue, I just couldn't get behind Chicago. Its selection would have been bankrolled by us taxpayers, and it would have been a crony payoff into the black hole of that city's corrupt political machine.

Besides, we've had 4 Olympics (summer and winter) since 1980, South America has never had an Olympics. It's their time.

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Good for Rio and Brazil!

JOC Vice President Tomiaki Fukuda said he was surprised at Madrid staying alive. ‘‘I thought Madrid would be eliminated. There is a possibility that it won votes out of sympathy for (former IOC president Juan Antonio) Samaranch.

To: JOC VP Tomiaki Fukuda... was it really necessary to say that???

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Thank goodness. The Olympic Games is a white elephant that neither Tokyo nor Chicago can afford.

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Great how the supposed favorite bowed out first. Party time in Rio!

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Kwaabish: "Great how the supposed favorite bowed out first."

The favourite of whom? Most people I know favoured Rio from the get-go.

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Tahoochi: "To: JOC VP Tomiaki Fukuda... was it really necessary to say that???"

I said the same thing about his comment... it's called being a 'sore loser'. Everything to deflect any criticism towards oneself.

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bgaudry: "Hey Obama, no we can't!"

I see we've not quite progressed from the sandbox, eh?

So, are you happy Rio got it? If so, happy because you wanted it to go there, or simply wanted Obama in particular to lose. A whole lot of immaturity on these Olympic threads.

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Congrats Brazil! Those are going to be the best games ever!

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smkithinjapan- I supported Rio. But its also nice to see your hero eat humble pie.

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Thank goodness it isnt Chicago. Thats all the world would have needed - another American Olympics. U.S.A! U.S.A!

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Despite President Obama's "star-power" and incredible personal appeal and speaking skills - which will very soon bring lasting peace to the peoples of the Earth - his gambit to push Chicago's bid to host the 2016 Olympics failed spectacularly. How could this happen to this great man? Perhaps his last minute jaunt to Coppenhagen to overwhelm the IOC with his charm and charisma was seen as grand-standing and a little bit more than arrogant even for this man of such great accomplishments. Congratulations Rio!

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Congratulations to Rio! It would have been nice to also see it in Madrid, since they have a lot of the infrastructure (e.g. a subway system to all potential Olympic venues) already in place. It was good to see the country with the largest support get the bid. I remember seeing a poll taken in each candidate country, and Rio had the most support amongst its people. Japan had the lowest support; at about 50%, with the U.S. a close second. Which means you'll see a lot of the general populace breathe a sigh of relief of not having the Olympics and more white elephants in Tokyo. Hopefully, this Rio win will help the people of Brazil. Rio has many beautiful sights, but it also has a great deal of poverty to deal with.

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3rd Place is a bronze, and you beat Obama's town of Chicago.

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I don't think it was so much Obama's fault rather the riff btwn the USOC and the IOC.

Consecutive Olympics in Europe, gaijin unfriendly Tokyo, racist Japan, glad to see Rio got it.

Makes me wanna visit Brazil soon!

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I don't see why there is so much criticism toward Obama. He, like Hatoyama, had nothing to do with it. They went because to not do so would draw even more criticism, with people saying they weren't helping their country. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Yes, the comment by Fukuda made him sound like a real sore loser. (Although I too was surprised Madrid got that far). Besides, Spain hosted it not too long ago.

Right, I wonder what Ishihara's next good idea is.

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This is a rip off really, Madrid should of won the Olympic bid outright, Janiro is plagued with a human rights crisis, high crime and political corruption.

Madrid has already got stadii, transport and full government backing. It is also cituated pretty much bang in the middle of Europe.

Not good this is...not good at all.

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It's Rio de Janeiro!! yay! congratulations!!

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An Olympic Committee that can say No.

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Congrats Rio. lack of public support of Japan failed to attract IOC.

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If a Japanese city is to have another crack at it in 2020, it must not be Tokyo - Osaka should have another go.

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How much did the Tokyo bid cost? $200 million or so (before counting for the bribes?) Did it ever stand a realistic chance? May have a silver lining in being the end of Ishihara the gaijin hater!

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Pukey: "I don't see why there is so much criticism toward Obama."

Have you not heard of the Republican Party? They lost the last election and have to save face for supporting the disaster that was his predecessor, that's why.

That aside, I completely agree and have stated that anyone who thinks that Obama is in any way responsible for the result of the bid needs his/her head screwed back on as much as anyone who thinks Obama going to Europe would have clinched the bid in Chicago's favour.

Criticising Obama for the result is even more pathetic than sore losing, like with the Japanese delegate criticizing Madrid and saying they got sympathy votes.

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Glad to see that the 2 countries with the worst immigration processes (fingerprinting)didnt get it.

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Criticising Obama for the result is even more pathetic than sore losing

Good point. I saw a Yahoo news article balking "Why Rio?" as if Chicago should have won out. It's sour grapes if you ask me. Congrats to Rio.

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I, for one, am very happy to hear that Rio de Janeiro won the rights. I've been there, and I can't help but think that the Olympics would sdo so much to help the citizens of both Rio and Brazil. I think it is a real shame that the Olympics are going to South America for the FIRST TIME in seven more years, but, the good news is, they are going to be staged there, and Rio will be a great place for them. Rio knows how to put on a show and a showcase, as does the rest of Brazil, so I believe the Rio Games in `16 will definitely be worth watching.

I am also glad to se that Shintaro Ishihara - the Governor of Tokyo - failed in his bid to gain the Games. Gov. Ishihara is -- as someone else stated -- the very antithesis of what the Games represent: he is a blatant and egotistically bigoted racist who doesn't deserve to have the hosting of the Games -- or at least, the winning of the rights -- as a feather in his cap before he leaves office. Gov. Ishihara has continually and regualrly blamed Tokyo's problems - particularly the ones involving maor or violent crime - on foreigners and has states in the clear that Japan would be better off without so many foreigners present here. For that fact alone, I am very happy to see Tokyo passed over.

I'm also glad that Chicago didn't get the Games for basically similar reasons that Tokyo didn't get them, with one exception: the crowing about having won the Games wouldbn't have come from the Mayor's office, but the President of the Unirted States of America's, again adding glitz and luster to a President who has done next to nothing to deserve anything o the kind...

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Hurtado - Why is all of that a problem? Beijing won them, and a month before her games opened last year, there was a major crackdown in Tibet. Having been to Rio, I can assure you that vast improvements have been made, and will be made.....

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How much lower can winger rhetoric go? MediaMatters has a recording of rush limbaugh saying that the IOC bitch-slapped President Obama and the First Lady and Oprah. I think we all know what THAT is a codeword for.

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Kwaabish - Tokyo was the favourite among......the Japanese Media, and there only. Even the IOC Members stated that 2016 would be too soon for Asia to have another Games, seeing how they were just held last year in Beijing.

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Tokyo Doesn't need the Olympics. It's better this way.

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The Olympic Committe of Japan should be blame! If they had picked-up cities in Japan who have wide public support then they could have won the bid.

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Blue Tiger,

I meant Chicago. It's funny how some IOC members let it out that Chicago was actually doomed to go down first early on in the process.

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good news... now japan can spend the money they would have used on this orgy of sporting banality on something useful such as their bankrupt pension system etc etc

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nylex: "good news... now japan can spend the money they would have used on this orgy of sporting banality on something useful such as their bankrupt pension system etc etc"

You would think so, but it's unlikely. Instead they'll probably focus on funneling more cash into a 2020 bid.

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Interesting, as I really didn't see Chicago as a front runner....of course, living in Japan, ir seemed that Tokyo was not only the front runner, but the ONLY runner! Anyways, thanks for the clearup, Kwaabish....

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I also agree that Tokyo sohuld give it a rest: let Osaka or some other J-City be the candidate city for 2020....

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of course, living in Japan, ir seemed that Tokyo was not only the front runner, but the ONLY runner!

I guess you haven't been watching much TV then. It seems like the coverage here in Japan was dissecting every chance that the Japan Olympic committee had of getting the bid. On Mezamashi they had Japan in fourth place with Chicago (which they got wrong) and Rio on top. The whole week was nothing but story after story about these four candidates. Heck, I even saw where they showed Nadia Comaneci and Jackie Joyner Kersey getting ready for their flight to yesterday's ceremony. All last week and previous weeks were stories showing the shanty towns of Rio, and the massive subway created in Madrid.

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Glad to see that the 2 countries with the worst immigration processes (fingerprinting)didnt get it.

And that the country that had the best immigration policy (ie fingerprinting nobody except US citizens in reprisal) did get it!

(Shame the Brazlilain policy didn't extend to Japanese visitors.)

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Actually, Hotbox06, I have. In fact, every time I turned on the TV, and there was a report about Tokyo and the bid for the Games, the media made it look like Tokyo was a sure thing and a shoo-in. In the Spring, they even belittled Rio's chances, stating that the IOC felt Tokyo was better than Rio because the infrastructure was better, and because Rio had poverty issues. Madrid wasn't even mentioned in any of the reports I saw, while Chicago was portrayed as Tokyo's only "real" competition. Of course, I don't stay glued to the television all day, but I saw a great many news reports, and all of them gave next to nothing to the rest of the candidate cities' chances, all the while, Tokyo was viewed asd the front runner, and, again, the only "real" runner for the games.

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Ooh, Fleet Admiral Ishihara has lost the battle. The end of another war!

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Proffesor said this earlier "And the Winner is....CHICAGO! No doubt."

No further comment!

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Take this for what it is - an interesting observation. The four emerging economies known as BRIC is doing very well in Olympic bids. 2008-Beijing, 2012 - Sochi (Russian Federation), 2016 - Rio (Brazil). India in 2020? IOC probably is looking at other factors, but the BRIC economies' presence on the world stage is becoming significant and given more attention. Congradulations to Rio. All contenders went for the Gold, but there can only be one winner at any one time.

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the media made it look like Tokyo was a sure thing and a shoo-in.

Blue Tiger, which news show was that? The ones I saw showed the public support of the Olympics being held in Tokyo as very lukewarm at best (about 50%). In fact, the only one thinking that Tokyo had any shot of hosting the Olympics was the idiot Ishihara and his cronies. The most positive support I've heard about this Olympics was where several talk show hosts saying that it would work in Japan only if it were held in a place like Fukuoka (NOT Tokyo). I would have to agree with that. Having the Olympics in Tokyo would not work and I'm glad it wasn't chosen as such.

If you watched the news program ZERO on Nippon Television (Channel 4 at about 11:00pm every night) last week, you would've seen several lengthy pieces on the infrastructure which has already been in place in Madrid. That's how I found out about the subway they have which many Spaniards love and which would've been convenient to use if Madrid had gotten the bid. They also showed the good and the bad of Rio with its lovely views of the sea, but numerous shanty towns with poverty everywhere. They also showed a piece showing how money was being spent in Chicago's bid. They even interviewed Nadia Comaneci and Jackie Joyner Kersey before they took their flights to the final presentation before the Olympic voting. Nadia even did the "Comaneci" gesture that Beat Takeshi made popular. In all the shows I saw, they kept showing this chart which detailed the ranking of the popularity and possibility of Tokyo's chances to get the Olympic bid. Every one of them had Tokyo fourth.

In any case, congrats to Rio. They deserved it since it has never been held in South America. Many Japanese stations were also saying that Rio deserved to host it since out of all of the candidates it was their turn. After all, Japan just hosted the Winter games in Nagano (1998), the U.S. just had the summer games in 1996 and winter games in 2002, and Spain just had the summer games in 1992. It was about time for a change, in not only country, but continent.

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Oh, and by the way, if anything, it was the U.S. news outlets that were touting Chicago as a shoe in for the Olympic bid. In fact, on Yahoo News, they are claiming that this was (and I quote), "one of the biggest upsets in International Olympic voting history" because Chicago was eliminated in the first round.

http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/news;_ylt=Akr8qHWtWjPny8EktNEmWos5nYcB?slug=ap-2016bids-chicago&prov=ap&type=lgns

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Didn't watch much ZERO, but I did watch NHK a lot over the last few months, and the way they were reporting things, Tokyo appeared to be THE Choice for the Olympics. Didn't even see very much on the citizenry of Tokyo being down on support. They did mention that the Tsukiji Market was being moved, and that public opinion abut that was against such a move, but as far as support or the lack thereof for Tokyo's bid, there was very little reported. NHK 7 o'clockl and 9 o'clock news respectively did a lot of puff pieces on the selection, and they made it look and sound like Tokyo was going to win, even making some pretty bogus claims about Rio de Janeiro, and how the IOC was more impressed with Toyko than Rio, as well. Channel 10 (not sure which outlet or company that is) did the same. Could be the Tokyo-based channels were simply producing biased reporting to make Tokyo look better to the citizens.

As far as Chicago and Chicago-US Television and Media, I don't know: I've seen very little US TV coverage about the Olympic Bid, so you, Hotbox08, know more about that than I do. Personally, I'm delighted that Rio won the Bid. Havng been there some years ago, I sincerely believe that hosting the Olympic Games will be an awesome, good thing for Rio and for Brazil. Congrats to Rio and Brazil!

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Good on Rio. The Brazilian people will open their arms to the rest of the world. Great news.

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Thanks for your opinions BlueTiger. Here is a news article backing the figures I mentioned about the low support by Japanese people for the Olympics in Tokyo:

http://cn.reuters.com/article/olympicsNews/idCNT25653420090502

It states that only 56% had supported it. Of course, the Yomiuri claimed that the figure was 70% (which in my opinion was fabricated to help Ishihara's bid). In any case, it proves that only Ishihara and his government cronies (as well as government-run NHK) supported this bid. It is no surprise that Ishihara took this poll only in Tokyo, and probably only by those close to him. Anyone outside of Tokyo could care less. It is also no surprise that only government-run NHK had Tokyo's chances ranked higher than Rio, while the other networks like Nippon TV, Fuji, and TBS were having Tokyo ranked at the bottom, with Rio, Madrid, and Chicago above it.

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it´s a sign of the new times, that are arriving: S. America and Africa are here too, to stay.

Chicago lost it because of the Atlanta fiasco, and the IOC is a little anti-American for a little while.

Tokyo lost it because all TVs around the world reminded us that 8 km inside Tokyo would be compact hell, not compact Olympics. Add to this recipe the clear notion that foreigners have that they are not well wished in Japan.

Madrid lost it becasue it would´nt make sense to have two Games in Europe, in a row.

And Rio got it, because their video was very emotive, S.America never had it and IOC doesn´t want to lose space to FIFA, who goes to Africa and other continents without problems.

Congrats Rio!!

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Congratulations to Rio and Brazil and for the 1 medal they might win in the 2016 games.

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