The die had been cast. Last week, on October 2nd, Rio de Janiero was awarded the host city of the 2016 Olympic Games.
It’s unfortunate that Tokyo lost its bid given that as early as 2007, the proponents of Tokyo Olympics 2016 had already started its campaign to win the hard battle, not to mention the fact that this is the third time the city competed to claim the most coveted honor of hosting such a prestigious event after it last hosted in 1964. I guess from now, the committee could start visualizing a more concrete and attractive package in collaboration with the government, of course, to hopefully impress the International Olympics Committee comes the day of reckoning for the 2020 Olympics. That is, if the Japanese Olympic Committee hasn’t given up yet.
Personally, I was a bit disappointed upon knowing Tokyo’s loss. I strongly wished that the 2016 Olympics be held in Japan. If I were still here by then (which I hope so), I thought I could have the chance to witness a lot of world-class athletes compete against each other. Too bad. On the other hand, after having had short conversations with my learners, I am convinced that Rio de Janeiro is a deserving host city, after all. I learned that a lot of them preferred Brazil to be the host country considering that the Olympic games have never been held in a South American country. Such an unselfish way of thinking…very admirable.
Good luck to Rio de Janeiro! And to Tokyo, better luck next time!
For more reading:
http://www.rio2016.org.br/en/Default.aspx
http://www.olympic.org/
Photo taken from: Rio_de_Janeiro_bid_logo_for_the_2016_Summer_Olympics.svg
