RIO DE JANEIRO - The Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro seeks to host the 2016 Olympic Games after the July 13 to 29 Pan-American Games, the city's prefect, Cesar Maia, told Sunday's media.
The Brazil Olympic Committee previously put forward Rio as a candidate for the 2004 and 2012 Olympics. It has until August to announce a new candidate. The International Olympic Committee will take submissions for 2016 Games until September 15 and must announce its decision by October 2009.
Chicago, Tokyo and Prague have already made their candidacy public; Madrid, Doha and Istanbul have said they are preparing bids; while New Delhi recently pulled out and Rome looks likely to do the same.
Maia wants to rescue the extension of the city's metro services to the west, and other transport linking north to south and north to west; but said he would only detail the cost of these plans in September.
Rio would also like to reactivate a plan to decontaminate the Guanabara Bay, which will host the Pan American Games's sailing events. In a local sailing event participants criticized high levels of pollution despite three years of environmental work.
