Rio's venues are fairly spread-out, but include several new Olympic-caliber stadiums built for the Pan-American Games in 2007. Brazilian soccer star Pele is expected to a kick a ball around while talking-up Rio's bid.
On Thursday night, at an official dinner overlooking the city, one IOC evaluation team member tried his hand at dancing the samba.
Earlier in the day, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva personally met with the IOC inspectors, as well as reporters in Rio de Janeiro. "For the U.S., an Olympic game is just one more Olympic game. But for us it is something that will really mean reassurance of a continent, and of a country and of a people," President Lula told a reporter with aroundtherings.com.
"here, we in Latin America, we all our lives experience that we must prove we know how to do things."
Later, Pres. Lula told reporters, "We want to prove that now the time is over that this country is being treated like a second-rate citizen. We want to be treated like first-rate, first-class citizens."
