MOSCOW, September 14 (RIA Novosti) - Seven cities on four continents have officially announced bids for the right to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
September 13 was the deadline to submit preliminary bids to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The cities are - Baku (Azerbaijan), Chicago (U.S.), Doha (Qatar), Madrid (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), Tokyo (Japan) and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil).
The IOC will select a short-list of finalists in June 2008.
The United States hasn't hosted the Olympics since Atlanta in 1996, and Chicago is considered the early favorite.
Rio de Janeiro, which is bidding for the third time, is also running for the right to host the 2014 soccer World Cup.
The host city will be announced by the IOC on October 2, 2009 at an IOC meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark.
