The International Olympic Committee set up a clash of continents for the right to host the 2016 Games today, with Chicago, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid advancing to the next round of the selection process.

The IOC's 15-member executive board narrowed down a list of hopefuls that also included Doha, Prague and Baku, whose bids were eliminated.

The full IOC body will elect the 2016 Games host by secret ballot in Copenhagen in October 2009.

"All bids were of a very high standard," IOC President Jacques Rogge said in a statement.

"It is a tribute to the health of the Olympic Movement that the field was so strong. I congratulate the candidate cities and I hope that those cities which were unsuccessful this time have benefited from the process."

The cities' bids were evaluated by a 13-member technical working group headed by IOC executive director Gilbert Felli.

Tokyo's candidacy was deemed the best all-around under a combination of factors including local support for the bid, infrastructure quality, security and financial backing.

Madrid was next, followed by Chicago and Doha closely tied at third place, while Rio finished fourth.

But Doha's bid was effectively dashed by its proposal to host the Games in October, far outside the IOC's desired calendar of July 15-August 31.

The world sports program is already overloaded by early autumn.

"Four cities is better than five," Chicago bid chairman Patrick Ryan said.

"Three would have been better than four. But we're very proud to be one of the four ... it's exhilarating," he said.

"There's a few things we've learned - don't assume anything, be humble, and work, work, work. And we're going to work right to the end," Ryan said.

Tokyo bid leader Dr Ichiro Kono said his team were "not expecting anything" but are happy to stay on in what remains a "very tough race".

Madrid, who had finished third in the effort to host the 2012 Games ultimately won by London, said their confidence never flagged.

Brazilian Sports Minister Orlando Silva said Rio can "guarantee the best venues, the best transportation services and a high level of security for the athletes". "Our country has changed," Silva said.

"It is stable economically, and we showed what we could do while hosting the (2007) Pan American Games."

Doha's representatives, on the other hand, were unpleasantly surprised but vowed to return with a new bid in future.

"We are really surprised by the IOC's decision, we thought our bid had all the benefits," said bid chairman Hassan Ali Ben Ali.

"But this will not prevent us from preparing a future bid," he said.

The cities selected as candidates on Wednesday will take part in an observer program at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games this summer.

The Olympics have never been held in South America or the Middle East. The closest to either region to organise the event was Mexico in 1968.

AFP