LAUSANNE, Sept 14: Seven cities from four continents are officially in the race to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The International Olympic Committee said on Friday it had received formal applications from Baku, Azerbaijan; Chicago; Doha, Qatar; Madrid, Spain; Prague, Czech Republic; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Tokyo.

Thursday was the deadline for submission of applications by national Olympic committees.

The field represents candidates from North America, South America, Europe and Asia. “I expect the competition to be one of the most intense ever,” said Tsunekazu Takeda, president of the Japanese Olympic Committee.

The host city will be selected by the IOC on Oct 2, 2009, at its session in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Before then, the candidates will go through a two-stage bid procedure.

The cities must reply to a detailed IOC questionnaire by Jan 14, 2008. The IOC executive board will select a short list of finalist cities in June 2008.

Full bid files must then be submitted to the IOC by Feb 12, 2009. An IOC evaluation commission will visit the cities in May and June of 2009 and publish a report assessing the bids one month before the vote.

The 2016 campaign follows the high-profile glamorous race for the 2012 Olympics, which featured five of the world’s most iconic cities. London defeated Paris in the final round in Singapore in 2005 in a contest that also included Madrid, Moscow and New York.—AP