Pan American Games a success

Brazil's hopes of securing hosting rights for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics have been buoyed by the success of the Pan American Games.

The two-week event - attended by over 5,000 athletes from 42 nations - has been widely hailed as a triumph, after the Brazilian government vastly exceeded its original budget to ensure security concerns were met.

With drug-related violence a frequent problem in Rio de Janeiro, extra police officers had been placed on duty in the city, quelling much of the conflict for the Games' duration.

Talking to the Associated Press, Rio taxi driver Walter Simoes said: "It was so peaceful here. Let's just hope it doesn't return to normal."

Brazil's Sports Minister Orlando Silva told the news conference following the Games' closing ceremony: "I would like to invite you all back to participate in the 2016 Olympics.

"We are ready to look for other events and to go after an Olympic candidature," he said.

However, the event was not necessarily as smoothly run as first thought, with Reuters reporting that serious shortcomings in the Brazilian transport system were exposed.