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Thousands of Spaniards preparing for a victory party fell into a stunned silence Saturday as Madrid's bid to host the 2020 Games was thrown out in a shock first round vote by Olympic chiefs.

 Many gasped in surprise and looked bewildered as their dreams of winning the Games and a potential economic windfall for the recession-hit nation were shattered. Just moments before, thousands of people packing the city centre had been singing "Madrid, Madrid" and dancing in preparation for night-time celebrations.

 Then it began raining and the news emerged from Buenos Aires that the Spanish capital, far from being chosen, was in a battle with Istanbul to survive into the second round. "Yes, we can!" chanted still-hopeful crowds packed around the granite arches of the city's Puerta de Alcala city gate where giant screens relayed the action from Buenos Aires.

Then the unthinkable happened: Madrid was ejected from the race in the first round. As spotlights projected the Madrid 2020 logo on to the city gates, International Olympics Committee president Jacques Rogge's announcement sank in. Complete silence fell over the thousands of people expecting to party at the Plaza de la Independenncia square where the city gate stands. Many people who had been clutching red balloons let them fly into the air and began heading back home.

Soon the square was almost deserted. "I am very disappointed," said Jorge Linhares, 41, a minister who had come to witness the decision. "Everyone was very hopeful and I am surprised," he added. "I thought we would go to the second round and win." Alex Marinez, a 16-year-old school student, said Madrid should press on by trying for another Games after three successive losses.

"I am very disappointed. Failing in the first round is the worst. But we have to carry on," he said. "Of course Madrid should go for a fourth and carry on fighting but I hope that for 2024 we will have more luck." Conchi Alvarez, 40, said Madrid should have won.

 "We did not deserve this. It is the third time we have lost. We will win the next." Madrid had tried to convince the International Olympic Committee that it could put on a memorable Games at a budget price amid a two-year recession that has sent the Spanish jobless rate spiralling above 26 percent. With 28 of the 35 venues have already in place, Madrid 2020 says it will spend just $3.1 billion (2.35 billion euros) to host the event and another $1.9 billion in construction investment.

Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who joined the bid team Saturday to try to swing the vote, had been hoping for an economic boost. "Celebrating the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Madrid would be a major catalyst for the recovery of the Spanish economy," he said in an article published in conservative daily ABC on the day of the vote.

The economic impact of the Games could be equal to 1.8 percent of Spain's total economic output, some 19 billion euros ($25 billion), Rajoy said. Armando Lozano, a 41-year-old nurse, clutched his balloon nervously. "It is a pity we didn't get the Games," he said. "It would have helped but the crisis is only temporary and we have to move on."