Our Vision Statement: Disability Rights California will create individual and family supports, chosen and directed by the person with a disability

121st International Olympic Committee

October 2, 2009

Rio de Janeiro elected to host 2016 Paralympic Games

Bonn, Germany - Today, at the 121st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Copenhagen, Denmark, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) was elected to be the host city of the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President and IOC member Sir Philip Craven, IPC Governing Board member and member of the IOC 2016 Evaluation Commission Greg Hartung and IPC CEO Xavier Gonzalez were amongst the attendees.

"I want to congratulate Rio de Janeiro to be elected as host city for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2016. I know that Rio will do a great job in setting up unique and inspiring Paralympic Games in seven years time", said Sir Philip. He continued: "The quality of all bids was very high, including the content of each presentation about the Paralympics. I am confident that any of the four cities would have put on great Paralympic Games.”

Following three rounds of voting by eligible IOC members, Rio de Janeiro eventually triumphed by taking 66 votes from a possible 98. Other Candidate cities competing for the right to host the 2016 Games were Chicago (United States), Tokyo (Japan) and Madrid (Spain).*

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are the pinnacle of every athlete’s career. Rio 2016 will strive to provide conditions that enable the athletes to compete in an environment of excellence, friendship and enjoyment.

*Cities are listed in the order of drawing of lots.

For more information about the bid process, please visit www.olympic.org. For more information about the host city for 2016, please visit www.rio2016.org.br.

Notes to the Editor:

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) is the global governing body of the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games, and serves as the International Federation for nine sports, for which it supervises and co-ordinates the World Championships and other competitions. The IPC is committed to enabling Paralympic athletes to achieve sporting excellence and to developing sport opportunities for all persons with a disability from the beginner to elite level. In addition, the IPC aims to promote the Paralympic values, which include courage, determination, inspiration and equality.

Founded on 22 September 1989, the IPC is an international non-profit organization formed and run by 162 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) from five regions and four disability specific international sports federations (IOSDs). The IPC Headquarters and its management team are located in Bonn, Germany.

For further information, please contact Steffi Klein, IPC Media and Communication Senior Manager on e-mail: steffi.klein@paralympic.org or go to www.paralympic.org or www.paralympicsport.tv.