The International Olympic Committee has released an evaluation report on four cities — Tokyo, Chicago, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid — competing to win the right to host the 2016 summer Olympic Games. Although there does not appear to be a clear front-runner, conspicuous is the fact that the IOC has upgraded its evaluation of Rio de Janeiro from last year.
The Brazilian city is trying to be the first South American city to host the Olympics, with 84.5 percent of residents supporting the bid, just short of Madrid's 84.9 percent. Support among Tokyo residents is only 55.5 percent, while that in Chicago is 67.3 percent. (These are all February figures.)
Rio de Janeiro barely passed the June 2008 screening in which the four cities were chosen from among seven contenders. At that time, it received 6.4 points (out of 10 possible) for infrastructure, accommodations, security, financing and environmental impact, among other criteria. Tokyo had the highest score with 8.3 points.