Chicago Eliminated From 2016 Olympics Bid In First Round, Rio FTW

Photograph of the shocked crowd at Daley Plaza by Marcus Gilmer/Chicagoist

Jen Chung

Published Oct 2, 2009

Modified Oct 2, 2009

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[UPDATE BELOW] Chicago, welcome to how NYC felt back in 2005! The Second City was eliminated in the first round of International Olympics Committee voting for the 2016 Olympics location. One lesson: The star power of President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey is not enough to win an Olympics. The city is apparently in shock. But let's face it—if NYC wasn't getting the 2012 Olympics when times were flush, what made Chicago think they could get it during a recession?

UPDATE: It's just been announced that the 2016 Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro, which is a pretty beautiful city, but forget about getting any decent deep dish pizza there.