Rio de Janeiro will host the next World Youth Day, Pope Benedict XVI announced Sunday to hundreds of thousands of young Roman Catholic pilgrims at the close of this year’s event in Madrid.
“I am pleased now to announce that the next World Youth Day will be held in 2013, in Rio de Janeiro,” the Pope told the faithful assembled to celebrate Mass at a military airbase on Madrid’s western outskirts. The crowds of young people from around the globe erupted in cheers at the announcement.

Rio will also host the Summer Olympics in 2016 and Brazil will host the World Cup in 2014. City officials who were in Madrid for Sunday’s announcement said in a statement that they were eager to see the festivities come to their city.

“From an economic standpoint, it’s amazing. ... The streets will be full, and the museums and sites,” said Sergio Cabral, governor of Rio de Janeiro state.