BREAKING NEWS: Rio To Host 2016 Summer Games
Oct. 2 2009, Published 2:39 p.m. ET
Ending months of international suspension, the International Olympic Committee officials announced Friday 12:55pm EST that Rio de Janeiro will host 2016 Summer Olympics.
In a crushing blow to President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, their hometown of Chicago was the first of the four finalist cities to be eliminated earlier Friday. Even Oprah Winfrey went to Copenhagen to personally lobby on behalf of Chicago, where her talk show is set.
Toyko was also eliminated earlier Friday – leaving only Rio and Madrid in the running.
Chicago’s loss was a hard-fought one, as the first lady put in tireless hours lobbying for the 2016 games to migrate to the Windy City, spending days with officials going to bat for the family's hometown of Chicago, to gain the rights to host the athletic extravaganza. The first lady dazzled earlier this week in a sleeveless bronze dress for the opening ceremonies at an IOC-related event at a Copenhagen, Denmark opera house.
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The 2012 Olympics are slated to be held in London, England.