For the crowd waiting on Copacabana beach there was a momentary pause after the announcement that Rio had secured the 2016 Olympic Games. It was almost as if no-one wanted to believe it until the news from Copenhagen had been confirmed in Portuguese. With all doubt removed - what followed was an outbreak of unrestrained Brazilian-style jubilation worthy of a World Cup victory. The cheers, shouting, hugs and applause soon blended into a carnival-style celebration complete with the sound of samba and silver ticker tape.
The beers - and the even more potent caipirinhas - were soon flowing. A short time earlier there was a sense that things were moving Rio's way with the shock early exit of Chicago. Many of the waiting crowds were as incredulous as people in other parts of the world, and Madrid became the focus of new and nervous attention. However, convinced by the Rio bid's cheer leader in chief, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, many people here had come to believe that South America's time had come.
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