121st IOC Session 121st IOC Session The 121st International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session was held on October 1–9, 2009 in Copenhagen, Denmark, during which Rio de Janeiro was selected as the host city of the 2016 Summer Olympics. The city of Copenhagen was chosen on February 8, 2006 by the 118th IOC Session held in Turin, Italy to stage the 13th Olympic Congress, together with the meetings of the Executive Board and the 121st IOC Session. The other candidates were Athens (Greece), Busan (South Korea), Cairo (Egypt), Riga (Latvia), Singapore (Singapore), Taipei (Chinese Taipei). Convened on the initiative of President Jacques Rogge, the
2009 National Games of China large scale music and dance performance at the Jinan Olympic Sports Center Stadium, nicknamed Xiliu (西柳）, literally "West Willow", due to its resemblance to the city tree, the Chinese willow. IOC President Jacques Rogge and a dozen IOC members also attended the ceremony. Liu Peng, who had headed the organising committee for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, stressed the role the Games played in improving the standard of sport in China, and also its importance in promoting fitness as a whole. Following this, the torch was brought into the stadium and the cauldron was lit, signalling the climax of the opening