Early Reaction to Selection of Rio

Once Chicago was eliminated after the first round of voting, it became pretty clear that Rio was getting the 2016 Games (British bookmakers had the odds at 3-4 for the Brazilian city late this morning). Now that the celebrating has calmed down a bit … what’s that? The Carnival-like party on Copacabana beach is expected to last well into the night, and easily boast over 100,000 people? Oh. Well, don't mind me over here, I'll just take a quick at how your city was able to pull off the upset.

Many will call this decision a vote against the United States, but really, it was more of a vote for all of South America, which will now host its first Olympics ever.

Rio's bid was boosted by an enthusiastic campaign, support from over 85 percent of citizens of the city, the promise of a Carnival-like party atmosphere and, most importantly, an appeal to the IOC to bring the Olympics to a country that isn't as rich and fully developed as usual Olympics locales like the U.S., England, Spain and Australia. Above all, the IOC is a political entity and going to Brazil was the best politics.

The lure of bringing the first Olympic games to South America and revitalizing Brazil proved to be too attractive to the IOC. Although the circumstances are much different, this vote is reminiscent of when the IOC bucked conventional wisdom and awarded the 2008 Olympics to Beijing. Those Games were thought to usher in a new era of China and served as a platform to reintroduce China to the world.

While Rio's enthusiasm and large number of supporters is a big reason they got the games (many in Chicago were openly against hosting), there was more to the IOC's decision than Rio just being a fun place to party. First, as the Sports Business Journal points out, Brazil, still a devloping country, "represents an intriguing sponsorship opportunity for global corporations." There's also the television aspect, which cannot be ignored, and from that standpoint, Rio was a perfect pick. 

The selection of Rio was the second-best option for the IOC on the TV front. The city is one hour ahead of the East Coast, which will allow broadcasters to air many of the marquee events, like swimming and track and field, in prime time. The IOC is expected to go to market with the U.S. television rights to the 2014 and 2016 Olympics within the next year. NBC is paying $2.1 billion for the rights to the 2010 and 2012 Olympics, and U.S. television rights currently account for half of all IOC revenue. Rio offers the IOC a chance to increase those rights in the next quadrennium. 21 Marketing founder Rob Prazmark said, “Everyone is worried about the next negotiations, but for television Rio’s almost as good as Chicago. You’re selling for U.S. television a great time zone.” 

And don't forget: Rio is a really fun place to party.