And the winner is....??? Race for the 2016 Olympics...

Madrid


Rio de Janerio



Tokyo


Chicago

In race for the 2016 Olympics
Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo are the four cities bidding to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The winner will be decided on October 2, 2009.The 2008 Beijing Olympics may be fresh in sports fans' memories, but the host for the 2016 Summer Games will be named on October 2, 2009 at the International Olympic Committee's meeting in Copenhagen.Seven down to fourThe list of cities entering official bids started at seven: Baku, Chicago, Doha, Madrid, Prague, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. That septet was cut to a quartet in the first elimination stage with the Azerbaijan capital Baku, Qatari capital Doha and Czech capital Prague.Rio is the only candidate in a country which hasn't yet hosted the event, but it is no stranger to big sports competitions, having successfully staged the XV Pan American Games last year. A winning bid for Rio would also mark the first time for the event to be held in South America. Chicago and Tokyo have both won previous bids—Chicago's bid, however, was transferred to St. Louis to coincide with the World's Fair that year (1904)—and the Japanese capital served as host to the Games in 1964. A Madrid win would come 24 years after Barcelona bore that torch for Spain's first Olympics in 1992.In the meantime, you can enjoy more statistics . And if 2016 is too far ahead, and your team-spirit cravings need more immediate satisfaction, you can start planning right away for any of these upcoming global sports events after the jump:-XXIX Summer Olympics, hosted by Beijing, China, this August. -XXI Winter Olympics, hosted by Vancouver, Canada, in February 2010. -World Cup in Soccer, hosted by South Africa in June/July 2010.-1st Youth Olympic Games, hosted by Singapore in August 2010.-XVI Pan American Games, hosted by Guadalajara, Mexico, in October 2011.-XXX Summer Olympics, hosted by London, England, in July/August 2012.-XXII Winter Olympics, hosted by Sochi, Russia, in February 2014. -World Cup in Soccer, hosted by Brazil in 201