A striking achievement in sports diplomacy had also been the final relocation of the headquarters of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) from Yaounde in Cameroun to Abuja.

As the government slowly ousts the traffickers and regains the upper hand — part of an organized cleanup ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro — companies are starting to understand that there is cash in what was once chaos. Taking products, services and jobs back into the pacified favelas is the latest challenge facing a city hoping to reverse decades of neglect as it prepares to host not just the Olympics but also the soccer World Cup final in 2014.

“As a country needs more top-class athletes in the Olympic Games to promote sports, we need more top-class economic players to make a name for themselves in the world and improve our technology. This is something that we have done well and will continue to do so,” she added.

Tokyo's announcement over the weekend that it will bid for the 2020 Olympics is intended to show the world it can recover and stage a successful Games after the devastation caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Tens of millions of Koreans across the world rejoiced as the International Olympic Committee announced PyeongChang as the host of the 2018 Winter Olympic Games, a dramatic triumph of the country’s sports diplomacy preceded by two painful failures.

Speaking in Prime Minister’s Questions, the MP who attended the wedding and was once tutor to the princes, said in light of the success of the royal wedding for public diplomacy, it was important the events were seen as two separate special occasions for the country, albeit within weeks of each other.

Britons have a "lot to look forward to" next year following the successful "dry run" of the royal wedding in London, David Cameron said. The Prime Minister said both the London Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012 would be a "fantastic opportunity" to "show all faces of Britain, both modern and traditional".