Hamburg  - In sporting terms the race to host the 2016 Olympics involving Rio de Janeiro, Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid would be classified as a dead-heat.

On Wednesday the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released the report of the Evaluation Commission for the 2016 Games, compiled after the commission visited the four candidate cities.

Following the publication of the 90-page report the Evaluation Committee found that the technical aspects of the candidates was of a very high quality.

The election of the host city for the 2016 edition of the Games will take place on 2 October 2009 during the IOC Session in the Danish capital Copenhagen.

IOC Vice-President Thomas Bach said that he expects a very tight race. "It will go down to the wire," while the chairperson of the evaluation commission, Nawal el Moutawakel said that she was very impressed with the four candidates.

The Moroccan Minster of Sports and Olympic hurdle champion from 1984 travelled to the candidate cities with her 12 fellow committee members in April and May and then conducted the report.

Although the report is considered important, it is not decisive.

In Chicago's case the report criticised the lack of guarantees from the US government to carry any possible losses the Olympics made, while for Tokyo, the luke-warm interest the Japanese public (54 per cent) had for the Olympics was noted. They also mentioned that some of the facilities which were said to exist still have to be built.

In Madrid's case they found that there was a lack of clearly defined roles of various interest groups and their financial backing.

Rio de Janeiro did not have enough hotel rooms and security concerns, the commission found.

Notwithstanding the minor criticisms, each of the four candidates is bidding with compact, secure and financially guaranteed Games.

One of the selling points Madrid put forward is that they have 23 of the 33 venues completed. Their Olympic budget is 6.1 billion dollars.

Rio de Janeiro has a budget of 13.9 billion dollars, which includes 2.8 billion dollars organizational costs. Chicago is aiming to raise the 4.8 billion from their budget through the private sector, which is something that is of some concern to the IOC commission.

There is also a growing anti-US sentiment amongst IOC members, who are upset that the US Olympic Committee is unwilling to agree to a new formula to share the billions that the IOC receives through marketing and of which the US currently receives a huge percentage.

Even the Obama factor is no longer considered a certainty, especially given the fact that his presence in Copenhagen is not even guaranteed.

His advisors are suggesting he should not go to the Danish capital as he could return home to the US a loser.

Unlike previous editions, the lucrative US TV rights are only being sold after a decision has been reached about the 2016 Games, but the present broadcaster NBC seems not to be completely in favour of Chicago getting the nod.

Internally the TV company, which is paying 1.2 billion dollars for the right to broadcast the 2012 Games in London, is already said to be talking about the advantages of having the Games in Rio de Janeiro. They say that the city is in a good time zone and the background of the Copacabana provides for idyllic television.

Since 1948 (London) and 1952 (Helsinki) two European countries have not hosted the Olympics consecutively. That makes Madrid - even though honorary IOC President Juan Antonio Samaranch has excellent contacts - an outsider.

The last time the US hosted the Olympics was Atlanta in 1996 and before that Los Angeles (1984). Tokyo hosted the Games in 1964.

Never before have the Olympics taken place in Latin America, prompting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to say that: "His country deserves the Games more than any other."

When attending the Beijing Olympics last year he went even further. "When God made the world, he prepared Rio for the Olympic Games," he said.

It is now up to the IOC members to say whether they agree or not.  dpa