KEY POINTS:
ATHENS - Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro were named today as candidate cities to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.
Qatar's Doha, which was rated by the IOC's working group as the third best overall bid, Azerbaijan's Baku and the Czech capital Prague fell at the first hurdle.
"All the bids were of a very high standard," said IOC President Jacques Rogge.
The candidate cities must now compile an in-depth file of their Olympic project and submit themselves to a visit by the IOC's Evaluation Commission.
The election of the host city will take place on October 2 2009 at the IOC Session in Copenhagen.
- REUTERS
