Rio Rejoices, But Chicago Shouldn’t Cry

It was inevitable, Rio.

Ahh, Rio De Janeiro, the city of warm weather, barely clothed people, drug trafficking, and now, the 2016 Summer Olympics. Indeed, the highly sought after games went to Rio, making it the first South American city to host the games.

The award left those in Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid shocked. How could the International Olympic Committee (the IOC) give the games to such a troubled city like Rio? Rio, to many of us, is a city whose image has been plagued by drug violence, gangs and slums. There were 2,273 murders in the city in 2006 alone, which comes to about 44 deaths per week. Yikes. Multiply that by two weeks — the typical duration of an Olympics — and it comes to about 88 deaths.

So why, aside from the symbolic gesture, were the games given to a less-than-ideal city? Here are some of factors:

Let’s face it, it’s a beautiful city. The tourism industry, despite the city’s history of violence, is booming. The Olympics would bring people from all around the world, which would in turn be revenue to the city.
The Olympics will force city officials to root out violent crime, something the city has been reluctant to do.
It brings a considerable amount of pride to Brazilians, which will hopefully translate to rooting out corruption in not just Rio, but in other large metropolitan areas, like São Paulo.
The IOC’s trend of giving the games to developing nations, such as China, Russia and, now, Brazil, might give hope to other developing nations and possibly encourage them to improve the quality of life of their citizens.

Yes, as Americans, we all wanted the games to be held in Chicago. Seeing the footage of the 2016 supporters in downtown Chicago when the city’s fate was announced makes anyone cringe. President Obama, despite his oratorical gift and tact, could not persuade the IOC to give the games to his hometown. And you know what? That might be a good thing. It sends the message the IOC is not always looking for fully-developed cities to host the games, and that maybe, just maybe, we should give the less industrialized countries a chance to show their might.

And besides, who really wanted to put $2 billion in the hands of Mayor Daley?