"RIO DE JANEIRO — On shimmering Copacabana beach, where Rio’s body-conscious residents play volleyball and soccer, giant screens are being readied for a live broadcast of the vote that will determine whether this city will make history by becoming the first South American city ever to host the Olympic Games."
On the streets and on the lips of radio and television broadcasters, Brazilians are abuzz with Olympics talk, and there is the distinct sense that this famous party city is ready to explode on Friday with a delirium rivaling its famed New Year’s and Carnaval celebrations if the vote for the 2016 Games goes Rio’s way.
Leaders here say winning the Olympics would be a transformational moment for Brazil, an affirmation of its rising global importance and a shot in the arm to the self-esteem of Cariocas, Rio’s residents, 85 percent of whom supported the Olympic bid in a recent poll by the International Olympic Committee.
“It would be overwhelming for our city, for our citizens and for Brazil as a whole,” said Carlos Osorio, the secretary general of Rio’s Olympic bid committee.
Happiness, in fact, is part of Rio’s pitch. The city has promised a private beach for the athletes, in front of a nature reserve in Barra da Tijuca that, in true Rio spirit, would be available at all hours. The Olympic Village would feature a Rua Carioca, a typical Rio street with cafes, bars and the swaying sounds of samba and bossa nova. If the athletes could vote, Mr. Osorio said, “it would be a landslide.”
But I have heard Rio is crime infested bigtime?