RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 12 — Rio de Janeiro will see in the New Year with a giant fireworks display looking forward to the city’s hosting of the 2016 Summer Olympics, officials said Thursday.

Two million people, including 850,000 tourists from Brazil and abroad, are expected on Copacabana beach to see the 16 minute show, which will also feature a sports-themed soundtrack and the national rhythms of samba.

With 34,000 fireworks, weighing a total of 24 tons, shooting from 11 boats anchored off the beach, Rio hopes to put Brazil’s deep economic and political woes behind.

“Rio is the first South American city to host the Olympic Games, something we find greatly satisfying,” the Rio tourism secretary, Antonio de Melo, said in a statement.

“In 2016 we will all be Cariocas,” he said, using the popular name for Rio residents. — AFP-Relaxnews