We are still one year away from it, but Brazil’s heart is already beating faster. The Brazilian generous heart leaps up when confronted with two of its passions: welcoming people from all over the world and competing with enthusiasm and fair play in a superb sport performance.

We have seen it happening during the FIFA World Cup. It will be like that again, beginning on August 5th 2016, when we will light with the Olympic flame our passion for sport and will hoist the flag bearing the five interlocking rings at our magnificent Maracana stadium.

Ensuring the smooth operation of this great project has required constant attention and a joint effort by the local, state and federal government, as well as the Organising Committee and the Olympic Public Authority

It is not by chance that Brazil was given the honor of being the first South American country to host the Olympic Games.

Brazil is worldwide known for its impressive and diversified landscape. We are also a country with a history of tolerance and respect for diversity which has become an international symbol of sociability. Indeed, we have welcomed different peoples and cultures with hospitality and happiness.

We have built a vigorous culture of peace and work. That set of values guides our hard work to turn these coming Olympics into the best ever world sports festivity. We have achieved it during the FIFA World Cup and we have everything it takes to repeat it at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

This is a major challenge which we are overcoming day after day, hour after hour, long before the competitions actually start. The preparation process for the Games began with investment in the most important asset of all: our athletes. It went on with massive investments in sport infrastructure and will reach its peak with the great ongoing urban restructuring of Rio de Janeiro - doubtlessly the most beautiful natural landscape for the Olympic Games since Ancient Greece.

Throughout the last years we made huge public investments to ensure adequate material support to our athletes, their coaches and teams, with such programs as the “Athlete Scholarship” and the “Brazilian Medals Plan”. Our outstanding athletes have succeeded in continuously improving their performances with each competition. They are our great stars and source of inspiration.

The results achieved by Brazil in the last Pan American Games are a concrete example of the drive of our athletes. Indeed, we are disseminating sport practice in our country among the young, with investments in sport facilities for a wide range of sport modalities throughout the country. This will be the greatest legacy which we will reap from the Rio 2016 Games. We believe that education and sport are our best allies to ensure social inclusion and integration. Through them we stimulate young people to fight for their goals, to experience the joy of breaking limits, to learn teamwork and respect for their competitors. Sport inspires in us a culture of cooperation, of honoring, ethic and hard work as means to reach our goals and celebrate our achievements. Combining it to the natural joy and self-esteem of our hospitable and welcoming people will produce the greatest legacy of the Rio 2016 Games.

We will also have the monumental legacy of urban modernization of Rio de Janeiro, one of the most beautiful cities in the world and our national postcard. Two thirds of the financial resources allocated to the Rio 2016 Games are being invested in urban infrastructure works for the city.

The Olympic Village, that will host athletes from all over the world, is also being constructed by the private sector, which has begun to sell these apartments. It is possible to state, therefore, that the Rio 2016 Games will receive one of the highest levels of private investment if compared to previous Olympic Games in the last 20 years. We are also providing for the cost-efficiency as well as the sustainability of the facilities. One example is Future Arena, the venue of the handball competitions at the Olympic Park.

Ensuring the smooth operation of this great project has required constant attention and a joint effort by the local, state and federal government, as well as the Organising Committee and the Olympic Public Authority. All parties will remain fully committed until the end of the Paralympic Games in September 2016.

Brazil is fully prepared for the upcoming Games. In cooperation with the event’s organizers, we will proudly show the world the recent accomplishments of a strong and well-functioning democracy which is committed to reducing social inequalities through economic development and investment. This is the collective effort of an entire country. Our energy to overcome challenges will be demonstrated to all the 15,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes, the thousands of spectators and the billions of viewers. Athletes and tourists will be warmly welcomed by the Brazilian society, as it happened in the 2014 World Cup, when the country charmed the world with its festive atmosphere and overall safety and efficiency. At that time, all those watching our festivities on TV certainly wanted to be here in Brazil.

In 2016, do not just long to be in Brazil - come enjoy all the good that the Olympic Games can give you during this one-time event - and all that a country like Brazil can offer you at any time: peace, love, joy, and lots of happiness!

Rousseff is President of the Federative Republic of Brazil regarding the Olympics and Para Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro 2016.