Rio de Janeiro will have the luxury of hosting the 2016 Olympic Games two years after staging football's World Cup after the International Olympic Committee yesterday delivered an astonishing snub to Barack Obama, US president, by eliminating Chicago in the first round of voting.

Rio's victory, in a final round run-off with Madrid, sends the Olympics to South America for the first time and marks a personal triumph for Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazilian president, who has been involved in Rio's bid for 18 months.