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Delegations from the 2016 bid cities of Chicago and Rio are making presentations at the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) General Assembly being held July 6-7 in Abuja, Nigeria.

The Chicago 2016 delegation includes its Chairman and CEO Patrick G. Ryan.

Ryan said, "we welcome every opportunity to share our vision for the Games and connect with IOC members who will vote in a few short months to select the 2016 host city. We feel our plan will deliver an extraordinary Games experience for athletes, spectators and visitors, and during our presentation we hope to convey Chicago's strong desire to be an Olympic city to the many IOC members from the African countries in attendance".

Rio 2016 is presenting to the ANOCA members Tuesday. Its delegation is being led by Carlos Nuzman, President of Rio 2016, and Brazilian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee (IOC's) Athlete of the Century football player Pele.

Nuzman said, "we are very excited about going to the ANOCA General Assembly with an impressive delegation that showcases support from our government and one of the world's greatest athletes for the bid. Brazil has important historical ties with Africa and as we saw this week with President Lula's participation at the African Union Summit in Libya, this has evolved into very strong relationships between Brazil and Africa that are steeped in cooperation and trade.

"We are determined to show that the Games can be held not only in a new continent but in every continent and hosting the Games in Rio would send a powerful signal about the possibility of the Games being hosted in all regions of the world, including Africa".

A Madrid 2016 delegation will also be in Abuja to present at ANOCA. Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon and bid CEO Mercedes Coghen told reporters they will talk about their vision for 2016 and about Spain's long historic and cultural connections with Africa.

Ruiz-Gallardon said, "Madrid always had an Olympic soul. The idea we want to transmit to the International Olympic Committee for our 2016 bid is that our city is full of diversity and that the spirit of our bid is to live the human values of the Olympic movement.

"We want our bid to stir the heart and show that we can promote the universal values of Olympism around the world. An Olympics in Madrid is for everyone of all ages and backgrounds.

"Communicating our message is an important part of the work of the Madrid team in the 90 or so days before the decision on October 2nd".

(Source: Gamesbids.com)