Brazil erupts in celebration with 2016 Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO: Rio de Janeiro was ready to party, and it had the best of reasons _ winning the 2016 Olympics.

Rio citizens celebrated by jamming bars along Copacabana beach,sipping the famed caipirinhas to savor one of the city''s proudest moments.

A huge roar from the crowd of nearly 50,000 people was heard at the famed beach the moment International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said the words ``Rio de Janeiro'''' to announce the winner in Copenhagen.

As popular President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and football great Pele celebrated in Denmark, the Cariocas, as Rio citizens are known, raised their arms to celebrate on Copacabana, frantically wavingflags and hugging each other.

The government has promised significant improvements to get Rio ready, and the Cariocas are hoping they will benefit from the preparations in a city known for its natural beauty and fun-loving people but also for its violent crime and many slums.

Winning the 2016 Olympics means more than the right to host the prestigious event, it means Rio and its 6 million people likely will benefit from the billions of dollars potentially available through new investments.