Rio de Janeiro Wins 2016 Olympics Bid

The 2016 Summer Olympics will be going to Samba-land for the first time. And it will be a first, too, for South America.

The IOC vote went to Rio de Janeiro and came as a blow to Chicago which was thought to be the front-runner to host the Games.

Despite a personal pitch by President Barack Obama, Chicago was knocked out in an earlier vote.

Members of the Rio delegation were ecstatic on learning the result during the 121st IOC session in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Friday.

Rio de Janeiro received 66 votes compared to Madrid’s 32 in the final round of voting. The other competing city was Tokyo.

Crowds in Rio de Janeiro started to party as soon as the annoucement was made by IOC president Jacques Rogge in Copenhagen.

The IOC session was shown live on Rio's famed Copacabana beach where  thousands of Brazilians were waiting to hear the result.

It looks like Brazil is on a roll. The national team has qualified for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. The most populous and biggest nation in South America, that has won the World Cup soccer tournament more than any other nations, will also host the 2014 World Cup.

And tonight, it's party time again for Brazilians.