Rio de JaneiroFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThis article is about the city. For the state, see Rio de Janeiro (state). For other uses, see Rio de Janeiro (disambiguation).

Rio de JaneiroMunicipality

Município do Rio de JaneiroMunicipality of Rio de Janeiro

From the top, left to right: Christ the Redeemer, Botafogo's cove, Rio Downtown, Rio–Niterói bridge, Maracanã Stadium, and panoramic view of Barra da

Tijuca from Pedra da Gávea

FlagCoat of arms

Nickname(s): Rio

Location in the state of Rio de Janeiro

Rio de JaneiroLocation in Brazil

Coordinates: 22°54′30″S 43°11′47″W Coordinates :

22°54′30″S 43°11′47″W Country  BrazilRegion SoutheastState Rio de JaneiroFounded 1 March 1565Government

 • MayorEduardo Paes (PMDB (2009–2016))

Area • Municipality 1,200   km 2 (486.5 sq mi) • Metro 4,557 km2 (1,759.6 sq mi)

Elevationfrom 0 to 1,021 m (from 0 to 3,349 ft)

Population (2014)[1]

 • Municipality 6,453,682 • Rank 2nd • Density 5,377/km2 (13,930/sq mi) • Urban 11,616,000 • Metro 12,090,607 (2nd)Demonym CariocaTime zone BRT (UTC−3) • Summer (DST) BRST (UTC−2)Postal Code 20000-000Area code(s) +55 21Website Rio de Janeiro, RJ

UNESCO World Heritage SiteType: CulturalCriteria: viDesignated: 2012 (36th session)

Reference No. 1100State Party: Brazil

Region:Latin America and the Caribbean

Rio de Janeiro (/ ̍ r iː oʊ d i ʒ ə ̍ n ɛər oʊ , - d eɪ ʒ ə - / ; Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʁi.u dʒi ʒɐˈnejɾu];[2] January's River), or simply Rio,[3] is the second largest city in Brazil, the sixth largest city in the Americas and the world's thirty-fifth largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, ranked as the second most populous metropolitan area in Brazil, the sixth most populous in the Americas and the eighteenth largest in the world. Rio de Janeiro is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's third most populous state. Part of the city has been designated as a World Heritage Site, named "Rio de Janeiro: Carioca Landscapes between the Mountain and the Sea", identified by UNESCO on 1 July 2012 in the category Cultural Landscape.[4]

Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, the city was initially the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro, a captaincy of the Portuguese Empire. Later, in 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil, a State of the Portuguese Empire. In 1808, when the Portuguese Royal Court transferred itself from Portugal to Brazil, Rio de Janeiro became the chosen seat of the court of Queen Maria I of Portugal, who subsequently, in 1815, under the leadership of her son, the Prince Regent, and future King João VI of Portugal, raised Brazil to the dignity of a kingdom, within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves. Rio stayed the capital of the pluricontinental Lusitanian monarchy until 1822, when the War of Brazilian Independence began. This is one of the few instances in history that the capital of a colonising country officially shifted to a city in one of its colonies. Rio de Janeiro subsequently served as the capital of the independent monarchy, the Empire of Brazil, until 1889, and then the capital of a republican Brazil until 1960 when the capital was transferred to Brasilia.

Rio de Janeiro represents the second largest GDP in the country[5] (and 30th largest in the world in 2008),[6] estimated at about R$343 billion (IBGE/2008) (nearly US$201 billion), and is headquarters to two of Brazil's major companies—Petrobras and Vale, and major oil companies and telephony in Brazil, besides the largest conglomerate of media and communications companies in Latin America, the Globo Organizations. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17% of national scientific production—according to 2005 data.[7]

Rio de Janeiro is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, carnival celebrations, samba, bossa nova, balneario beaches[8] such as Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon. Some of the most famous landmarks in addition to the beaches include the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf mountain with its cable car; the Sambódromo, a permanent grandstand-lined parade avenue which is used during Carnival; and Maracanã Stadium, one of the world's largest football stadiums.

Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics. This will be the first time a South American and Portuguese-speaking nation hosts the event. It will be the third time the Olympics will be held in a Southern Hemisphere city.[9] On 12 August 2012, at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Mayor Eduardo Paes received the Olympic Flag, via Jacques Rogge, from London Mayor Boris Johnson. Rio's Maracanã Stadium held the finals of the 1950 and 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2013 FIFA

Confederations Cup and the XV Pan American Games both opening and closing ceremonies. Rio de Janeiro also hosted the World Youth Day in 2013.[10]

Contents

1 History 2 Geography

o 2.1 Climate 3 City districts

o 3.1 Downtown o 3.2 South Zone o 3.3 North Zone o 3.4 West Zone

4 Demographics o 4.1 Population growth o 4.2 Religion

5 Economy 6 Education

o 6.1 Educational institutions o 6.2 Educational system

7 Culture and contemporary life o 7.1 Tourism and recreation o 7.2 Literature

7.2.1 Libraries o 7.3 Music o 7.4 Theatre

7.4.1 Theatro Municipal 7.4.2 Cidade da Música

o 7.5 Cultural events 7.5.1 New Year's Eve 7.5.2 Carnival

8 Sports o 8.1 Football o 8.2 Olympics o 8.3 Other sports

9 Transportation o 9.1 Airports and ports o 9.2 Public transportation

9.2.1 Subway and urban trains 9.2.2 Bus 9.2.3 Other

o 9.3 Road transport 9.3.1 Bicycles 9.3.2 Water transport

10 Human development 11 International relations

o 11.1 Partner cities 12 See also 13 Notes

14 References 15 External links

History

Main articles: History of Rio de Janeiro and Timeline of Rio de Janeiro historyHistorical Affiliations

Portuguese Empire 1565–1815United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves 1815–1822 Empire of Brazil 1822–1889Republic of Brazil 1889–present

Founding of Rio de Janeiro in 1565.

View of Rio de Janeiro from the church of the monastery of São Bento, c. 1825

Rio de Janeiro, ca.1910s.

Europeans first encountered Guanabara Bay on January 1,1502 (hence Rio de Janeiro, "January River"), by a Portuguese expedition under explorer Gaspar de Lemos captain of a ship in Pedro Álvares Cabral's fleet, or under Gonçalo Coelho.[11] Allegedly the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci participated as observer at the invitation of King Manuel I in the same expedition. The region of Rio was inhabited by the Tupi, Puri, Botocudo and Maxakalí peoples.[12]

In 1555, one of the islands of Guanabara Bay, now called Villegagnon Island, was occupied by 500 French colonists under the French admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon. Consequently, Villegagnon built Fort Coligny on the island when attempting to establish the France Antarctique colony.

The city of Rio de Janeiro proper was founded by the Portuguese on 1 March 1565 and was named São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, in honour of St. Sebastian, the saint who was the namesake and patron of the then Portuguese Monarch D. Sebastião. Rio de Janeiro was the name of Guanabara Bay. Until early in the 18th century, the city was threatened or invaded by several, mostly French, pirates and buccaneers, such as Jean-François Duclerc and René Duguay-Trouin.[13]

In the late 17th century, still during the Sugar Era, the Bandeirantes found gold and diamonds in the neighbouring captaincy of Minas Gerais, thus Rio de Janeiro became a much more practical port for exporting wealth (gold, precious stones, besides the sugar) than Salvador, Bahia, which is much farther to the northeast. And so in 1763, the colonial administration in Portuguese America was moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. The city remained primarily a colonial capital until 1808, when the Portuguese royal family and most of the associated Lisbon nobles, fleeing from Napoleon's invasion of Portugal, moved to Rio de Janeiro. The kingdom's capital was transferred to the city, which, thus, became the only European capital outside of Europe. As there was no physical space or urban structure to accommodate hundreds of noblemen who arrived suddenly, many inhabitants were simply evicted from their homes.[14] There was a large influx of African slaves to Rio de Janeiro: in 1819, there were 145,000 slaves in the captaincy. In 1840, the number of slaves reached 220,000 people.[15]

When Prince Pedro proclaimed the independence of Brazil in 1822, he decided to keep Rio de Janeiro as the capital of his new empire. Rio continued as the capital of Brazil after 1889, when the monarchy was replaced by a republic. Until the early years of the 20th century, the city was largely limited to the neighbourhood now known as the historic city centre (see below), on the mouth of Guanabara Bay. The city's centre of gravity began to shift south and west to the so-called Zona Sul (South Zone) in the early part of the 20th century, when the first tunnel was built under the mountains located between Botafogo and the neighbourhood now known as Copacabana. Expansion of the city to the north and south was facilitated by the consolidation and electrification of Rio's streetcar transit system after 1905.[16] Botafogo's natural beauty, combined with the fame of the Copacabana Palace Hotel, the luxury hotel of the Americas in the 1930s, helped Rio to gain the reputation it still holds today as a beach party town (though, this reputation has been somewhat tarnished in recent years by favela violence resulting from the narcotics trade[17]). Plans for moving the nation's capital city to the territorial centre had been occasionally discussed, and when Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president in 1955, it was partially on the strength of promises to build a new capital.[18] Though many thought that it was just campaign rhetoric, Kubitschek managed to have Brasília built, at great cost, by 1960. On 21 April that year the capital of Brazil was officially moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília.

Between 1960 and 1975, Rio was a city-state under the name Guanabara State (after the bay it borders). However, for administrative and political reasons, a presidential decree known as "The Fusion" removed the city's federative status and merged it with the State of Rio de Janeiro, the territory surrounding the city whose capital was Niterói, in 1975. Even today, some Cariocas advocate the return of municipal autonomy.[19][20]

The city hosted the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2014 FIFA World Cup final. It was announced on 2 October 2009, that Rio will host the 2016 Olympic Games, beating the finalist competitors Chicago, Tokyo, and Madrid. The city will become the first South American city to host the event and the second Latin American city (after Mexico City in 1968) to host the Games. The city hosted the World Youth Day in 2013, the second World Youth Day in South America and first in Brazil.

Geography

Pedra da Gávea sea view.

Rio de Janeiro is on the far western part of a strip of Brazil's Atlantic coast (between a strait east to Ilha Grande, on the Costa Verde, and the Cabo Frio), close to the Tropic of Capricorn, where the shoreline is oriented east–west. Facing largely south, the city was founded on an inlet of this stretch of the coast, Guanabara Bay (Baía de Guanabara), and its entrance is marked by a point of land called Sugar Loaf (Pão de Açúcar)—a "calling card" of the city.[21]

The Centre (Centro), the core of Rio, lies on the plains of the western shore of Guanabara Bay. The greater portion of the city, commonly referred to as the North Zone (Zona Norte), extends to the northwest on plains composed of marine and continental sediments and on hills and several rocky mountains. The South Zone (Zona Sul) of the city, reaching the beaches fringing the open sea, is cut off from the Centre and from the North Zone by coastal mountains. These mountains and hills are offshoots of the Serra do Mar to the northwest, the ancient gneiss-granite mountain chain that forms the southern slopes of the Brazilian Highlands. The large West Zone (Zona Oeste), long cut off by the mountainous terrain, had been made more easily accessible by those on the South Zone by new roads and tunnels by the end of the 20th century.[22]

The population of the city of Rio de Janeiro, occupying an area of 1,182.3 square kilometres (456.5 sq mi),[23] is about 6,000,000.[24] The population of the greater metropolitan area is estimated at 11–13.5 million. It was Brazil's capital until 1960, when Brasília took its place. Residents of the city are known as cariocas. The official song of Rio is "Cidade Maravilhosa", by composer André Filho.

Panorama of the city of Rio de Janeiro highlighting the mountains of Corcovado (left), Sugarloaf (center, background) and Two Brothers (right), from the Chinese Belvedere.

Climate

Sugarloaf mountain.

Rio has a tropical wet and dry or savanna type (Aw ) that closely borders a tropical monsoon climate (Am ) according to the Köppen climate classification, and is often characterized by long periods of heavy rain from December to March.[25] In inland areas of the city, temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) are common during the summer, though rarely for long periods, while maximum temperatures above 27 °C (81 °F) can occur on a monthly basis.

Along the coast, the breeze, blowing onshore and offshore, moderates the temperature. Because of its geographic situation, the city is often reached, especially during autumn and winter, by cold fronts advancing from Antarctica, causing frequent weather changes. It is mostly in summer that strong showers provoke catastrophic floods and landslides. The mountainous areas register greater rainfall since they constitute a barrier to the humid wind that comes from the Atlantic.[26]

It is said that the city had frost in its past, but it was never confirmed. Some areas within Rio de Janeiro state have snow grains and ice pellets with an even frequency (popularly called granizo, or "hail", although it is in fact melted and refrozen snow falling in the form of a ball—true hail, rather than just icy snow along showers, is much less common). These phenomena are definitely not rare or limited to a few regions, having already happened in the metropolitan area (including western suburbs of the city itself) several times in the 21st century.[27][28][29][30] In other areas there is true snowfall more than once in each century (the last time in the state happened by the mid-1980s), most commonly around the highest mountain in

the state (for perhaps centuries thought to be the country's) and fifth in the country, Pico das Agulhas Negras, in the cities of Resende and Itatiaia (in lower latitudes than Rio de Janeiro, but much higher altitudes).[31]

Also elsewhere in the state, the occasional incidence of drought is very rare albeit bound to happen as in other places with the occurrence of a strongly seasonal tropical climate, but the 2014–2015 Brazil drought, most severe in the Southeast Region, the worst in decades, proved to affect even the metropolitan region's water supply (a diversion from the Paraíba do Sul river into the Guandu river is a major source for the state's most populous mesoregion), and plans to divert the Paraíba do Sul to the Sistema Cantareira (see its 2014 water crisis), in order to help critically drought-stricken Greater São Paulo (the shortest solution to an issue posed to linger across the entire country in the near future, as the consequences of both climate change and the deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest merge into a single consequence), are posed to turn matters even more complex, as rainfall that would offer tap water service to supply both metropolitan areas in the future is merely theoretical.[32][33][34] This is worsened by, as showed by a recent central government report, 37% of the country's tap water being lost due to leaky pipes (sometimes resulting in contaminated water), fraud and illegal access,[35] and the country's use of hydroelectric power as its main energy source.

View of the Marina da Glória.

Roughly in the same suburbs corresponding to the March 2012, February–March 2013 and January 2015 granizo falls (Nova Iguaçu and surrounding areas, including parts of Campo Grande and Bangu), there was a tornado-like phenomenon in January 2011, for the first time in the region's recorded history, causing structural damage and lasting blackouts, but no fatalities.[36][37] The World Meteorological Organization alerts Brazil, specially its Southeastern region, that events as the catastrophic January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides are not an isolated phenomenon and that Brazil must be prepared for severe weather in the next years. "This (the early 2010s serial devastation in Rio de Janeiro's mesoregions Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro and Sul Fluminense) was not an isolated event. The events in Brazil confirms a global trend that storms tend to be increasingly strong and in places where it did not take place with the same force", said Rupakumar Kolli, WMO expert on climatological phenomena.[37] In early May 2013, winds registering above 90 km/h (56 mph) also caused lasting blackouts in 15 neighborhoods of the city and three surrounding municipalities, and it killed a person;[38] Rio saw similarly fast winds again (about 100 km/h (62 mph)) in January 2015.[39] The average annual minimum temperature is 21 °C (70 °F),[40] the average annual maximum temperature is 27 °C (81 °F),[41] and the average annual temperature is 24 °C (75 °F).[42] The average yearly precipitation is 1,069 mm (42.1 in).[43]

Leblon neighborhood.

Temperature also varies according to elevation, distance from the coast, and type of vegetation or land use. Winter, cold fronts and dawn/morning sea breezes bring mild temperatures; cold fronts, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (in the form of winds from the Amazon Forest), the strongest sea-borne winds (often from an extratropical cyclone) and summer evapotranspiration bring showers or storms. Thus the monsoon-like climate has dry and mild winters and springs, and very wet and warm summers and autumns. As a result, temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F), that may happen about year-round but are much more common during the summer, often mean the actual temperature feeling is over 50 °C (122 °F), when there is little wind and the relative humidity percentage is high.[44][45][46][47] In such weather, avoiding dehydration (by high consumption of water, and if possibly potassium in people not affected by hyperkalemia, and low consumption of sodium), over-exercising and direct exposure to the sun is recommended, especially for children and elders. Rio de Janeiro lags only after Cuiabá at being the hottest state capital outside Northern and Northeastern Brazil; temperatures below 14 °C (57 °F) occur yearly, while those below than 11 °C (52 °F) happen less often. The phrase, fazer frio ("making cold", i.e. "the weather is getting cold"), usually refers to temperatures going below 21 °C (70 °F), which occurs year-round and is commonplace in mid-to-late autumn, winter and early spring nights.

There is also a slightly greater seasonal difference in the incidence of solar radiation people receive in Rio de Janeiro (or about anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere) in comparison to places in the Northern Hemisphere with similar climate and the same exact latitude as the Earth most closely approaches Sol (the local Sun) only 12 days after the Southern Hemisphere's summer solstice. See illustration at the article on the Earth's seasons.

Between 1961 and 1990, in INMET (Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology) conventional station, located in the neighborhood of Saúde, the lowest temperature ever recorded was 10.1 °C (50.2 °F) on October 1977,[48] and the highest temperature reached 39 °C (102.2 °F) on December 1963.[49] The highest accumulated rainfall in 24 hours was 167.4 mm (6.6 in) in January 1962.[50] However, the absolute minimum ever recorded in INMET Jacarepaguá station, 3.8 °C (38.8 °F) in July 1974,[48] and the absolute maximum was 43.2 °C (110 °F) December 26, 2012,[51] in the neighborhoods of Santa Cruz station, while the highest accumulated rainfall in 24 hours was recorded at the Santa Teresa station, of 186.2 mm (7.3 in) in April 1967.[50] The lowest temperature ever registered in the 21st century was 8.1 °C (46.6 °F) in Vila Militar, July 2011.[52]

[hide]Climate data for Rio de Janeiro (1961–1990)[nota 1]

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high

°C (°F)38.1

(100.6)

37.7

(99.9)

37.4

(99.3)

37.1

(98.8)

36.3

(97.3)

32.5

(90.5)

33.3

(91.9)

35.9

(96.6)

37.2

(99)

36.8

(98.2)

38.2

(100.8)

39

(102)

39

(102)

Average 30.2 30.2 29.4 27.8 26.4 25.2 25 25.5 25.4 26 27.4 28.6 27.3

high °C (°F) (86.4) (86.4) (84.9) (82) (79.5) (77.4) (77) (77.9) (77.7) (79) (81.3) (83.5) (81.1)

Daily mean °C (°F)

26.3

(79.3)

26.6

(79.9)

26

(79)

24.4

(75.9)

22.8

(73)

21.8

(71.2)

21.3

(70.3)

21.8

(71.2)

22.2

(72)

22.9

(73.2)

24

(75)

25.3

(77.5)

23.8

(74.8)

Average low °C (°F)

23.3

(73.9)

23.5

(74.3)

23.3

(73.9)

21.9

(71.4)

20.4

(68.7)

18.7

(65.7)

18.4

(65.1)

18.9

(66)

19.2

(66.6)

20.2

(68.4)

21.4

(70.5)

22.4

(72.3)

21

(70)

Record low °C (°F)

17.7

(63.9)

18.9

(66)

18.6

(65.5)

16.2

(61.2)

11.1

(52)

11.6

(52.9)

12.2

(54)

10.6

(51.1)

10.2

(50.4)

10.1

(50.2)

16.5

(61.7)

17.1

(62.8)

10.1

(50.2)

Rainfall mm (inches)

137.1

(5.398)

130.4

(5.134)

135.8

(5.346)

94.9

(3.736)

69.8

(2.748)

42.7

(1.681)

41.9

(1.65)

44.5

(1.752)

53.6

(2.11)

86.5

(3.406)

97.8

(3.85)

134.2

(5.283)

1,069.4

(42.102)

Avg. rainy days (≥ 1 mm)

11 7 8 9 6 6 4 5 7 9 10 11 93

 % humidity 79 79 80 80 80 79 77 77 79 80 79 80 79.1

Mean monthly sunshine

hours

211.9 201.3 206.4 181 186.3 175.1 188.6 184.8 146.2 152.1 168.5 179.6 2,181.8

Source: Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET).[42][41][40][43][53][54][55][49][48]

Average annual temperature of the sea is 23–24 °C (73–75 °F), from 22 °C (72 °F) in the period July–October to 26 °C (79 °F) in February and March.[56] The dominant ocean current is the warm Brazil Current (as most of elsewhere in the Santos Bight between Santa Catarina and Cabo Frio; the subsurface part of the cold subantarctic Malvinas Current only slightly resurfaces to affect the latter, giving the characteristic semi-arid climate in parts of Arraial do Cabo, the only occurrence of such in the whole state). The wettest and driest months tend to be December and August respectively.

Average sea temperature[56]

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year25 °C (77 °F)

26 °C (79 °F)

26 °C (79 °F)

25 °C (77 °F)

24 °C (75 °F)

23 °C (73 °F)

22 °C (72 °F)

22 °C (72 °F)

22 °C (72 °F)

22 °C (72 °F)

23 °C (73 °F)

25 °C (77 °F)

24 °C (75 °F)

City districts

The city is commonly divided into the historic center (Centro); the tourist-friendly wealthier South Zone (Zona Sul); the residential less wealthy North Zone (Zona Norte); peripheries in the West Zone (Zona Oeste), Santa Cruz and Campo Grande and the wealthy newer Barra da Tijuca district.

Downtown

Main articles: Zona Central, Rio de Janeiro and Centro, Rio de Janeiro

(22°54′19.4112″S 43°10′37.6608″W )

Aerial view of Downtown Rio.

Centro or Downtown is the historic core of the city, as well as its financial centre. Sites of interest include the Paço Imperial, built during colonial times to serve as a residence for the Portuguese governors of Brazil; many historic churches, such as the Candelária Church, (the former cathedral), São Jose, Santa Lucia, Nossa Senhora do Carmo, Santa Rita, São Francisco de Paula, and the monasteries of Santo Antônio and São Bento. The Centro also houses the modern concrete Rio de Janeiro Cathedral. Around the Cinelândia square, there are several landmarks of the Belle Époque of Rio, such as the Municipal Theatre and the National Library building. Among its several museums, the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (National Museum of Fine Arts) and the Museu Histórico Nacional (National Historical Museum) are the most important. Other important historical attractions in central Rio include its Passeio Público, an 18th-century public garden. Major streets include Avenida Rio Branco and Avenida Vargas, both constructed, in 1906 and 1942 respectively, by destroying large swaths of the colonial city. A number of colonial streets, such as Rua do Ouvidor and Uruguaiana, have long been pedestrian spaces, and the popular Saara shopping district has been pedestrianized more recently.

South Zone

Main article: Zona Sul

(22.974199°S 43.199444°W)

Copacabana Beach.

Cablecar arriving at Sugarloaf.

The South Zone of Rio de Janeiro (Portuguese: Zona Sul) is composed of several districts, among which are São Conrado, Leblon, Ipanema, Arpoador, Copacabana, and Leme, which compose Rio's famous Atlantic beach coastline. Other districts in the South Zone are Glória, Catete, Flamengo, Botafogo, and Urca, which border Guanabara Bay and Santa Teresa, Cosme Velho, Laranjeiras, Humaitá, Lagoa, Jardim Botânico, and Gávea.

It is the wealthiest part of the city and the best known overseas; the neighborhood of Leblon in particular has the most expensive real estate in all of South America.

The neighbourhood of Copacabana beach hosts one of the world's most spectacular New Year's Eve parties ("Reveillon"), as more than two million revelers crowd onto the sands to watch the fireworks display. As of 2001, the fireworks have been launched from boats, to improve the safety of the event.[57] To the north of Leme, and at the entrance to Guanabara Bay, is the district of Urca and the Sugarloaf Mountain ('Pão de Açúcar'), whose name describes the famous mountain rising out of the sea. The summit can be reached via a two-stage cable car trip from Praia Vermelha, with the intermediate stop on Morro da Urca. It offers views second only to Corcovado mountain.

Hang gliding is a popular activity on the Pedra Bonita (literally, "Beautiful Rock"). After a short flight, gliders land on the Praia do Pepino (Pepino, or "cucumber", Beach) in São Conrado.

Since 1961, the Tijuca National Park (Parque Nacional da Tijuca), the largest city-surrounded urban forest and the second largest urban forest in the world, has been a National Park. The largest urban forest in the world is the Floresta da Pedra Branca (White Rock Forest), which is also located in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro.[58] The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro or PUC-Rio), Brazil's top private university, is located at the edge of the forest, in the Gávea district. The 1984 film Blame It on Rio was filmed nearby, with the rental house used by the story's characters sitting at the edge of the forest on a mountain overlooking the famous beaches.

In 2012, CNN elected Ipanema the best city beach of the world.[59]

Aerial panorama of Santa Teresa, a neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro, with the Christ the Redeemer, Tijuca Forest and Sugarloaf Mountain, in the background.

North Zone

The iconic Maracanã Stadium.

The North Zone (Portuguese: Zona Norte) begins at Grande Tijuca (the middle class residential and commercial bairro of Tijuca and its surrounding neighbourhoods and favelas), just west of the city center, and sprawls for miles inland until Baixada Fluminense and the city's Northwest.

This region is home to the Maracanã stadium (located in Grande Tijuca), once the world's highest capacity football (soccer) venue, able to hold nearly 199,000 people, as it did the World Cup final of 1950. In modern times its capacity has been reduced to conform with modern safety regulations and the stadium has introduced seating for all fans. Currently undergoing reconstruction, it has now the capacity for 90,000 fans; it will eventually hold around 80,000 people. Maracanã was site for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and football/soccer competition of the 2007 Pan American Games, and hosted the final match of 2014 FIFA World Cup and will also host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and football matches of the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Tijuca Forest in the city.

Besides Maracanã, the North Zone of Rio also holds other tourist and historical attractions, such as 'Manguinhos', the home of Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, a centenarian biomedical research institution with a main building fashioned like a Moorish palace, and the beautiful Quinta da Boa Vista, the park where the historic Imperial Palace is located. Nowadays, the palace hosts the National Museum, specialising in Natural History, Archaeology, and Ethnology.

The International Airport of Rio de Janeiro (Galeão – Antônio Carlos Jobim International Airport, named after the famous Brazilian musician Antônio Carlos Jobim), the main campus of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro at the Fundão Island, and the State University of Rio de Janeiro, in Maracanã, are also located in the Northern part of Rio.

This region is also home to most of the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro such as Mangueira, Salgueiro, Império Serrano, Unidos da Tijuca, among others. Some of the main neighbourhoods of Rio's North Zone are Tijuca, which shares the Tijuca Rainforest with the South and Southwest Zones; Água Santa, Vila Isabel, Méier, São Cristovão, Madureira, Penha, Manguinhos, Fundão, among others.

Many of the Rio de Janeiro's roughly 1000 shantytowns, or favelas, which makes it resembling many other cities in underdeveloped and developing countries, are located in Zona Norte.[60]

West Zone

The West Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro makes up about 50% of the city area. It has two areas with very different characteristics: the southern part of West Zone is a rich area, considered an extension of the South Zone. The northern part of the West Zone is a suburb, considered an extension of the North Zone.

West Zone's south—Barra da Tijuca region

Panoramic view of Barra da Tijuca.

This area is the most recently modernized region of Rio de Janeiro. It includes Barra da Tijuca, Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Vargem Grande, Vargem Pequena, Grumari, Jacarepaguá as well minor neighbourhoods close to those cited here. There is a clear social contrast between this area and the Campo Grande/Santa Cruz area. Nevertheless, this area has its own favelas, such as Cidade de Deus, outlying the middle and upper class areas.

Westwards from the older zones of Rio, Barra da Tijuca is a flat complex of barrier islands of formerly undeveloped coastal land, which constantly experience new constructions and developments. It remains an area of accelerated growth, attracting some of the richer sectors of the population as well as luxury companies. High rise flats and sprawling shopping centers give the area a far more Modernism feel than the crowded city centre.

The urban planning of the area, done in the late 1960s, mixes zones of single-family houses with residential skyscrapers. The beaches of Barra da Tijuca are also popular with the city's residents. Barra da Tijuca is the home of Pan-American Village built for the 2007 Pan American Games.[61]

The highest hill in Rio is Pedra Branca peak (Pico da Pedra Branca), in Barra da Tijuca region, and one of the most famous hills in the city is the 842 metres (2,762 ft) high Pedra da Gávea (Crow's nest Rock) near South Zone. On the top of its summit is a huge rock formation (some, such as Erich von Däniken in his 1973 book, "In Search of Ancient Gods", claim it to be a sculpture) resembling a sphinx-like, bearded head that is visible for many kilometers around.

This is the area of the City that will hold most of the sports venues and competitions during the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. It will be home to the Olympic Village, Olympic Beach, and Olympic Park as well.

West Zone's north—Campo Grande/Santa Cruz region

This area is separated from the Barra da Tijuca by the Maciço da Pedra Branca and the Serra da Grota Funda. It has exhibited economic growth, mainly in the Campo Grande neighborhood. New industrial enterprises are being built in contemporarily lower and lower middle class residential Santa Cruz, one of the largest and most populous Rio de Janeiro's neighbourhoods, most notably Companhia Siderúrgica do Atlântico (CSA), a new steel mill with its own private docks on Sepetiba Bay, planned to be South America's largest steel works.[62]

A tunnel called Túnel da Grota Funda, opened in 2012, creates a public transit facility between Barra da Tijuca and Santa Cruz, lessening travel time to the region from other areas

of Rio de Janeiro.[63]

Demographics

Main articles: Demographics of Rio and Demographics of BrazilRace and ethnicity in Rio de Janeiro

Ethnicity Percentage

White    51.2%Pardo (Multiracial)    36.5%Black    11.5%Asian    0.7%Amerindian    0.1%

Satellite view of the Greater Rio de Janeiro.

Rio at night from ISS.

According to the 2010 IBGE Census, there were 5,940,224 people residing in the city of Rio de Janeiro.[64] The census revealed the following numbers: 3,239,888 White people (51.2%), 2,318,675 Pardo (multiracial) people (36.5%), 708,148 Black people (11.5%), 45,913 East Asian people (0.7%), 5,981 Amerindian people (0.1%).[65] The population of Rio de Janeiro was 53.2% female and 46.8% male.[65]

In 2010, the city of Rio de Janeiro was the 2nd most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo.[66]

Different ethnic groups contributed to the formation of the population of Rio de Janeiro. Before European colonization, there were at least seven different indigenous peoples speaking 20 languages in the region. A part of them joined the Portuguese and the other the French. Those who joined the French were then exterminated by the Portuguese, while the other part was assimilated.[67]

Portuguese immigrant in the city. Rio de Janeiro is considered the largest "Portuguese city" outside Portugal.[68]

Rio de Janeiro is home to the largest Portuguese population outside of Lisbon in Portugal.[69]

[70] After independence from Portugal, Rio de Janeiro became a destination for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Portugal, mainly in the early 20th century. The immigrants were mostly poor peasants who subsequently found prosperity in Rio as city workers and small traders.[71] The Portuguese cultural influence is still seen in many parts of the city (and many other parts of the state of Rio de Janeiro), including architecture and language—almost every person native to Brazil with some cultural contact with Rio and its inhabitants knows how to easily differentiate between fluminense and other Brazilian dialects. People of Portuguese ancestry predominate in most of the state. The Brazilian census of 1920 showed that 39.74% of the Portuguese who lived in Brazil lived in Rio de Janeiro. Including all of the Rio de Janeiro, the proportion raised to 46.30% of the Portuguese who lived in Brazil. The numerical presence of the Portuguese was extremely high, accounting for 72% of the foreigners who lived in the capital. Portuguese born people accounted for 20.36% of the population of Rio, and those with a Portuguese father or a Portuguese mother accounted for 30.84%. In other words, native born Portuguese and their children accounted for 51.20% of the inhabitants of Rio, or a total of 267,664 people in 1890.[72]

Rio de Janeiro city (1890)Group Population Percentage[73]

Portuguese immigrants 106,461 20.36%Brazilians with at least one Portuguese parent 161,203 30.84%Portuguese immigrants and their descendants 267,664 51.2%

The black community was formed with residents whose ancestors had been brought as slaves, mostly from Angola or Mozambique, as well as more people of Angolan, Mozambican and West African descent from other parts of Brazil. The samba (from Bahia with Angolan influence) and the famous local version of the carnival (from Europe) first appeared under the influence of the black community in the city.

Today, nearly half of the city's population is perceptibly by phenotype black or part black,[74] and a wide majority has some recent Subsaharan ancestor—white in Brazil has more to do with European-looking phenotypes rather than ancestry, and two full siblings can be of different "racial" categories,[75] or actually in a skin color and phenotype continuum between pálido (branco) or fair-skinned, branco moreno or swarthy Caucasian, mestiço claro or lighter skinned multiracial, pardo (mixed race) or and negro or black. Race classifications as they are is known in the Anglosphere are not followed in Brazilian culture (at least for most of the population), which captures the concept of cor or "color", the continuous range of phenotypes,[76] and as such perceptions that now most Brazilians are "black rather than white" according to the census data are erroneous in a cultural relativistic viewpoint. Pardo, for example, in popular usage includes those who are caboclos (mestizos), mulatos (mulattoes), cafuzos (zambos), juçaras (archaic term for tri-racials) and westernized Amerindians (which are called caboclos as well), being more of a skin color rather than a racial group in particular.

European and Amerindian ancestries also have overwhelming and wide majorities respectively in Rio de Janeiro's population despite any classifications in IBGE's standardized racial groups, thus there were a bi-directional impact of miscegenation (in minor degree, it also happened in other multicultural white-majority regions, at least in some regions of the United States—a hypodescent society where there were the phenomena of passing—as well Argentina, and it is common elsewhere in Latin America) in both white and black populations.

As a result of the influx of immigrants to Brazil from the late 19th to the early 20th century, one may find in Rio de Janeiro and its metropolitan area communities of Levantine Arabs (mostly Christian or Irreligious), Spaniards, Italians, Germans, Japanese,[77] Jews, and people from different parts of Brazil. The main waves of internal migration came from people of African, mixed or older Portuguese (as colony's settlers) descent from Minas Gerais and people of Eastern European, Swiss, Italian, German, Portuguese and older Portuguese-Brazilian heritage from Espírito Santo in the early and mid-20th century, and people with origins in Northeastern Brazil, of diverse origins, in the mid-to-late and late 20th century, as well some in the early 21st century (the latter more directed to peripheries than the city's core in itself).

Genomic ancestry of non-related individuals in Rio de Janeiro[78]

Race or skin color Number of individuals Amerindian African EuropeanWhite 107 6.7% 6.9% 86.4%Pardo (Mixed race) 119 8.3% 23.6% 68.1%Black 109 7.3% 50.9% 41.8%

According to an autosomal DNA study from 2009, conducted on a school in the poor periphery of Rio de Janeiro, the "pardos" there were found to be on average about 80% European, and the "whites" (who thought of themselves as "very mixed") were found out to carry very little Amerindian and/or African admixtures.

"The results of the tests of genomic ancestry are quite different from the self made estimates of European ancestry", say the researchers. In general, the test results showed that European ancestry is far more important than the students thought it would be. The "pardos" for example thought of themselves as 1/3 European, 1/3 African and 1/3 Amerindian before the tests, and yet their ancestry on average reached 80% European.[79][80]

Self-reported ancestry of people from Rio de Janeiro, by race or skin color (2000 survey)[76]

Ancestry White Pardo BlackEuropean only 48% 6% —African only — 12% 25%Amerindian only — 2% —African and European 23% 34% 31%Amerindian and European 14% 6% —African and Amerindian — 4% 9%African, Amerindian and European 15% 36% 35%Total 100% 100% 100%

Population growth

Changing demographics the city of Rio de Janeiro[81]

Candelária Church.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Brazil

Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area, according to 2009 researches from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (known as Portuguese: Novo Mapa das Religiões), nowadays rank first among Brazilian peripheries in Irreligion percentage (23.68%), and it is also the least Roman Catholic among Brazilian metropolitan areas, and trails only Boa Vista among the least Roman Catholic (51–52%) Brazilian capitals (Rio de Janeiro state, 15.95%, simultaneously only trails Roraima, 19.39%, in Irreligion), while Rio de Janeiro city is also the fifth Brazilian capital in the percent of Irreligious population (13.33%), changing nearly nothing since 2000 (while the first, Boa Vista, has 21.16%).[82][83] It is also the Brazilian capital with the greatest percentage of Spiritists (now about 4–5%), and with substantial numbers in Afro-Brazilian religions and Eastern religions.

Religion Percentage NumberCatholic 51.09% 3,229,192

Protestant 23.37% 1,477,021Irreligious 13.59% 858,704Spiritist 5.90% 372,851

Umbanda and Candomblé 1.29% 72,946Jewish 0.34% 21,800

Source: IBGE 2010.[84]

Economy

Main articles: Economy of Rio and Economy of Brazil

Rio de Janeiro has the second largest GDP of any city in Brazil, surpassed only by São Paulo. According to the IBGE, it was approximately US$201 billion in 2008, equivalent to 5.1% of the national total. The services sector comprises the largest portion of GDP (65.52%), followed by commerce (23.38%), industrial activities (11.06%) and agriculture (0.04%).[85][86]

Benefiting from the federal capital position it had for a long period (1763–1960), the city became a dynamic administrative, financial, commercial and cultural center. Greater Rio de Janeiro, as perceived by the IBGE, has a GDP of US$187.374.116.000, constituting the second largest hub of national wealth. Per capita GDP is US$11,786.[87] It concentrates 68% of the state's economic strength and 7.91% of all goods and services produced in the country.[88]

Central Business District of Rio.

Taking into consideration the network of influence exerted by the urban metropolis (which covers 11.3% of the population), this share in GDP rises to 14.4%, according to a study released in October 2008 by the IBGE. For many years brings together the second largest industrial hub of Brazil, with oil refineries, shipbuilding industries, steel, metallurgy, petrochemical, gas, chemical, textile, printing, publishing, pharmaceutical, beverages, cement and furniture. However, the last decades indicated a sharp transformation in its economic profile, which is acquiring more and more shades of a major national hub of services and businesses.[89] The Rio de Janeiro Stock Exchange (BVRJ), which currently trades only government securities, was the first stock exchange founded in Brazil in 1845 and located in the central region.

Rio de Janeiro became an attractive place for companies to locate when it was the capital of Brazil, as important sectors of society and of the government were present in the city. The city was chosen as headquarters for state-owned companies such as Petrobras, Eletrobras, Caixa Econômica Federal and Vale (which was privatized in the 1990s). After the transfer of the capital to Brasília, in 1960, it kept attracting more companies,[90] especially after the discovery of oil in the Campos Basin, which produces most of the total oil production of Brazil. This made many oil and gas companies to be based in Rio de Janeiro, such as the Brazilian branches of Shell, EBX and Esso. The headquarters of BNDES, an important state institution, is also in Rio de Janeiro. The city is also the headquarters of large telecom companies, such as Intelig, Oi and Embratel.

Rio ranks second nationally in industrial production [91] and second financial and service center, trailing only São Paulo. The city's industries produce processed foods, chemicals, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, metal products, ships, textiles, clothing, and furniture. The service sector dominates the economy, however, and includes banking and the second most active stock market in Brazil, the Bolsa da Valores do Brasil. Tourism and entertainment are other key aspects of the city's economic life and the city is the nation's top tourist attraction for both Brazilians and foreigners.[92]

Rio Branco Avenue, in the financial district of the city.

Because it was once the national capital, Rio de Janeiro was chosen as the site for the headquarters of many private, national, multinational, and state corporations, even when their

factories were located in other cities or states. Despite the transfer of the capital to Brasília, many of these headquarters remained within the Rio metropolitan area, including those of Petrobrás, the state oil company, and the National Economic and Social Development Bank, a federal investment bank.

A newer electronics and computer sector has been added to the older industries of metallurgy, engineering, and printing and publishing. Other manufacturing sectors focus on the production of shipyard-related materials, apparel and footwear, textiles, nonmetallic mineral products, food and beverages, chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. Construction, also an important activity, provides a significant source of employment for large numbers of unskilled workers and is buoyed by the number of seasonal residents who build second homes in the Greater Rio de Janeiro area.

To attract industry, the state government has designated certain areas on the outskirts of the city as industrial districts where infrastructure is provided and land sales are made under special conditions. Oil and natural gas from fields off the northern coast of Rio de Janeiro state are a major asset used for developing manufacturing activities in Rio's metropolitan area, enabling it to compete with other major cities for new investment in industry.[93]

As with manufacturing, Rio is an important financial centre, second only to São Paulo in volume of business in financial markets and in banking. Its securities market, although declining in significance relative to São Paulo, is still of major importance. Owing to the proximity of Rio's port facilities, many of Brazil's export-import companies are headquartered in the city. In Greater Rio, which has one of the highest per capita incomes in Brazil, retail trade is substantial. Many of the most important retail stores are located in the Centre, but others are scattered throughout the commercial areas of the other districts, where shopping centres, supermarkets, and other retail businesses handle a large volume of consumer trade.[94]

Major Brazilian entertainment and media organizations are based in Rio de Janeiro like Organizações Globo and also some of Brazil's major newspapers: Jornal do Brasil, O Dia, and Business Rio. Major international pharmaceutical companies have their Brazilian headquarters in Rio such as: Merck, Roche, Arrow, Darrow, Baxter, Mayne, and Mappel.

Rio de Janeiro is the 2nd richest city in Brazil, behind São Paulo and the 30th richest city in the world with a GDP of R$ 201,9 billion in 2010. The per capita income for the city was R$22,903 in 2007 (around US$14,630).[95] According to Mercer's city rankings of cost of living for expatriate employees, Rio de Janeiro ranks 12th among the most expensive cities in the world in 2011, up from the 29th position in 2010, just behind São Paulo (ranked 10th), and ahead of London, Paris, Milan, and New York City.[96][97] Rio also has the most expensive hotel rates in Brazil, and the daily rate of its five star hotels are the second most expensive in the world after only NYC.[98]

The city of Rio de Janeiro is featured in tourism in Brazil.

Education

Main article: List of Rio de Janeiro schools, colleges, universities and research centers

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

The Portuguese language is the official and national language, and thus the primary language taught in schools. English and Spanish are also part of the official high school curriculum. There are also international schools, such as the American School of Rio de Janeiro, Our Lady of Mercy School, the Corcovado German School, the Lycée Français and the British School of Rio de Janeiro.

Educational institutions

The city has several universities and research institutes. The Ministry of Education has certified approximately 99 upper-learning institutions in Rio.[99] Some notable higher education institutions are:

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ); Federal University of the Rio de Janeiro state (UNIRIO); Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ); Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ, often nicknamed Rural); Fluminense Federal University (UFF); Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio); Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV); Military Institute of Engineering (IME); Superior Institute of Technology in Computer Science of Rio de Janeiro (IST-Rio); Estácio de Sá University (UNESA);

National Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA).

There are more than 137 upper-learning institutions in whole Rio de Janeiro state.[100]

Pedro II School, the oldest among the schools in activity in the city, and the second oldest in Brazil.

Educational system

Primary schools are largely under municipal administration, while the state plays a more significant role in the extensive network of secondary schools. There is also a small number of schools under federal administration, as is the case of Pedro II School, Colégio de Aplicação da UFRJ and the Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica of Rio de Janeiro (CEFET-RJ). In addition, Rio has an ample offering of private schools that provide education at all levels. Rio is home to many colleges and universities. The literacy rate for cariocas aged 10 and older is nearly 95 percent, well above the national average.[101]

The Rio de Janeiro State University (public), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (public), Brazilian Institute of Capital Markets (private) and Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (private) are among the country's top institutions of higher education. Other institutes of higher learning include the Colégio Regina Coeli in Usina, notable for having its own 3   ft (914 mm) narrow gauge [102] funicular railway on its grounds.[103]

In Rio, there were 1,033 primary schools with 25,594 teachers and 667,788 students in 1995. There are 370 secondary schools with 9,699 teachers and 227,892 students. There are 53 University-preparatory schools with 14,864 teachers and 154,447 students. The city has six major universities and 47 private schools of higher learning.[104]

Culture and contemporary life

A LGBT flag on Ipanema Beach.

Museum of Modern Art.

Rio de Janeiro is a main cultural hub in Brazil. Its architecture embraces churches and buildings dating from the 16th to the 19th centuries, blending with the world renowned designs of the 20th century. Rio was home to the Portuguese Imperial family and capital of the country for many years, and was influenced by Portuguese, English, and French architecture.[105]

Rio de Janeiro has inherited a strong cultural role from the past. In the late 19th century, there were sessions held of the first Brazilian film and since then, several production cycles have spread out, eventually placing Rio at the forefront of experimental and national cinema. The Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival[106] has been held annually since 1999.[107] Rio currently brings together the main production centers of Brazilian television.[108] Major international films set in Rio de Janeiro include Blame it on Rio; the James Bond film Moonraker; the Oscar award-winning, critically acclaimed Central Station by Walter Salles who is also one of Brazil's best-known directors; and the Oscar award-winning historical drama, Black Orpheus, which depicted the early days of Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. Internationally famous, Brazilian-made movies illustrating a darker side of Rio de Janeiro include Elite Squad and City of God (2002 film).

Rio has many important cultural landmarks, such as the Biblioteca Nacional (National Library), one of the largest libraries in the world with collections totalling more than 9 million items; the Theatro Municipal; the National Museum of Fine Arts; the Carmen Miranda Museum; the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden; the Imperial Square; the Brazilian Academy of Letters; the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro; and the Natural History Museum.

Tourism and recreation

Aerial view of the Statue of Christ the Redeemer.

Rio de Janeiro is Brazil's primary tourist attraction and resort. It receives the most visitors per year of any city in South America with 2.82 million international tourists a year.[109] The city sports world-class hotels, approximately 80 kilometres of beaches, and the famous Corcovado and Sugarloaf mountains. While the city has in past had a thriving tourism sector, the industry entered a decline in the last quarter of the 20th century. Annual international airport arrivals

dropped from 621,000 to 378,000 and average hotel occupancy dropped to 50% between 1985 and 1993.[110] The fact that Brasília replaced Rio de Janeiro as the Brazilian capital in 1960 and that São Paulo replaced Rio as the country's commercial, financial and cultural main center during the midi-20th century, has also been cited as a leading cause of the decline. Rio de Janeiro's government has since undertaken to modernise the city's economy, reduce its chronic social inequalities, and improve its commercial standing as part of an initiative for the regeneration of the tourism industry.[111] The city is an important global LGBT destination, 1 million LGBT tourists visit the city of Rio de Janeiro each year.[112] The Rua Farme de Amoedo is located in Ipanema, a famous neighborhood in the South Zone of Rio de Janeiro. The street and the nearby beach, famous tourist spots, are remarkable for their popularity in the LGBT community.

Rio de Janeiro is the most awarded destination by World Travel Awards in the South American category of "best destination".[113]

Literature

Main article: Literature of Brazil

Brazilian Academy of Letters.

After Brazilian independence from Portugal in 1822, Rio de Janeiro quickly developed a European-style bourgeois cultural life, including numerous newspapers, in which most 19th-century novels were initially published in serial. Joaquim Manuel de Macedo's A Moreninha (1884) was perhaps the first successful novel in Brazil and inaugurates a recurrent 19th-century theme: a romantic relationship between idealistic young people in spite of cruelties of social fortune. Rio in recent year has had a scheme where adults aged 18 to 25 where made to have literacy tests and education.

The first notable work of realism focusing on the urban lower-middle class is Manuel Antônio de Almeida's Memórias de um sargento de milícias (1854), which presents a series of picaresque but touching scenes, and evokes the transformation of a town into a city with suggestive nostalgia. Romantic and realist modes both flourished through the late 19th century and often overlapped within works.[114] The most famous author of Rio de Janeiro, however, was Machado de Assis, that is also widely regarded as the greatest writer of Brazilian literature [115] and considered the introducer of Realism in Brazil, with the publication of The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas (1881);[116] he had commented and criticized the political and social events of the city and country such as the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the transition from Empire to Republic with his numerous chronicles published in newspapers of the time.[117] Much of his short stories and novels, like Quincas Borba (1891) and Dom Casmurro (1899), are placed in Rio.

Libraries

National Library of Brazil

Royal Portuguese Reading.

The Biblioteca Nacional (National Library of Brazil) ranks as one of the largest libraries in the world. It is also the largest library in all of Latin America.[118] Located in Cinelândia, the National Library was originally created by the King of Portugal, in 1810. As with many of Rio de Janeiro's cultural monuments, the library was originally off-limits to the general public. The most valuable collections in the library include: 4,300 items donated by Barbosa Machado including a precious collection of rare brochures detailing the History of Portugal and Brazil; 2,365 items from the 17th and 18th centuries that were previously owned by Antônio de Araújo de Azevedo, the "Count of Barca," including the 125 volume set of prints "Le Grand Théâtre de l'Univers;" a collection of documents regarding the Jesuítica Province of Paraguay and the "Region of Prata;" and the Teresa Cristina Maria Collection, donated by Dom Pedro II. The collection contains 48,236 items. Individual items of special interest include a rare first edition of Os Lusíadas by Luis de Camões, published in 1584; two copies of the Mogúncia Bible; and a first edition of Handel's Messiah.[119]

The Portuguese Royal jolie papillon is located at Rua Luís de Camões, in the Centro. The institution was founded in 1837 by a group of forty-three Portuguese immigrants, political refugees, to promote culture among the Portuguese community in the then capital of Império. A history of the Brazilian Academy of Letters is linked to the Royal Cabinet, since the five solemn.

Music

The official song of Rio de Janeiro is "Cidade Maravilhosa", which means "marvelous city". The song is considered the "civic anthem" of Rio, and is always the favourite song during Rio's Carnival in February. Rio de Janeiro is with São Paulo, the main centre of the urban music movement in Brazil.[120]

Rio was popularised by the hit song "Garota de Ipanema" (The Girl from Ipanema), composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes and recorded by Astrud Gilberto & João Gilberto, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald. It is also the main key song of the bossa nova, a musical genre that was born in Rio. A genre unique to Rio and Brazil as a whole is Funk Carioca. While samba music continues to act as the national unifying agent in Rio, Funk

Carioca found a strong community following in Brazil. With its genesis in the 1970s as the modern black pop music from the United States, it evolved in the 1990s to describe a variety of electronic music associated with the current US black music scene, including hip hop, modern soul, and house music."[121]

Atraente

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0:00Choro "Atraente", composed by Chiquinha Gonzaga, recorded by Pixinguinha (saxophone) and Benedito Lacerda (flute). Choro is a genre of instrumental music that was born in Rio, and it led to a strong tradition that continues today.

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Brazil's return to democracy in 1985 after over 20 years of military authoritarian rule, and the subsequent end of rampant censorship, allowed for a new freedom of expression which promoted creativity and experimentation in expressive culture.[122] Commercial and cultural imports from Europe and North America have often influenced Brazil's own cultural output. For example, the hip hop that has stemmed from New York is localized into various forms of musical production such as Funk Carioca and Brazilian hip hop. Bands from Rio de Janeiro also had influence in the mid-to-late development of the Punk in Brazil, and that of Brazilian thrash metal. Democratic renewal also allowed for the recognition and acceptance of this diversification of Brazilian culture.[123] Rio de Janeiro is also the homeland of the biggest entertainment event in the world, the Rock in Rio Festival, which had editions in 1985, 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2013.

Theatre

Municipal Theatre of Rio de Janeiro.

Theatro Municipal

Rio Janeiro 's Theatro Municipal is one of the most resplendent buildings in the downtown area of Rio de Janeiro. Home of one of the largest stages in Latin America and one of Brazil's most well known venues for opera, ballet, and classical music. The building was inspired by the Paris Opera of Garnier, and built in 1905 by the architect Francisco Pereira Passos. The statues on the top, of two women representing Poetry and Music, are by Rodolfo Bernadelli, and the interior is rich with furnishings and fine paintings. Founded in 1909, the Teatro Municipal was designed after the famed opera house in Paris with close to 1,700 seats. Its interior includes turn of the century stained glass from France, ceilings of rose-colored marble and a 1,000 pound crystal bead chandelier surrounded by a painting of the "Dance of the Hours". The exterior walls of the building are dotted with inscriptions bearing the names of famous Brazilians as well as many other international celebrities.[124]

City of Arts.

Cidade da Música

Cidade das Artes (City of Arts) is a cultural complex located in Barra da Tijuca in the Southwest Zone of Rio de Janeiro, which was originally planned to open in 2004. Formally known as "Cidade da Música" (City of Music), it has an inauguration anticipated for the beginning of 2013. The project will host the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra becoming a main center for music as will be the largest modern concert hall in South America, with 1,780 seats. The complex spans approximately 90 thousand square metres and also features a chamber music hall, three theaters, and 12 rehearsal rooms. From the terrace there is a panoramic view of the region, from Barra's borught. The building was designed by the French architect Christian de Portzamparc and construction was funded by the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Cultural events

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve Fireworks at Copacabana Beach.

Every 31 December, 2.5 million people gather at Copacabana Beach to celebrate New Year's in Rio de Janeiro. The crowd, mostly dressed in white, celebrates all night at the hundreds of different shows and events along the beach. It is the second largest celebration only next to the Carnival. People celebrate the New Year by sharing chilled champagne. It is considered good luck to shake the champagne bottle and spray around at midnight. Chilled champagne adds to the spirit of the festivities.[125]

Carnival

Main articles: Rio Carnival and Brazilian Carnaval

Carnaval, is an annual celebration in the Roman Catholic tradition that allows merry-making and red meat consumption before the more sober 40 days of Lent penance which culminates with Holy or Passion Week and Easter. The tradition of Carnaval parades was probably influenced by the French or German courts and the custom was brought by the Portuguese or Brazilian Imperial families who had Bourbon and Austrian ancestors. Up until the time of the marchinhas, the revelry was more of a high class and Caucasian-led event. The influence of the African-Brazilian drums and music was more noticeable from the first half of the 20th century. Rio de Janeiro has many Carnaval choices, including the famous samba school (Escolas de Samba) parades in the sambadrome exhibition center and the popular blocos de carnaval, street revelry, which parade in almost every corner of the city. The most famous ones are:

Cordão do Bola Preta: Parades in the centre of the city. It is one of the most traditional carnavals. In 2008, 500,000 people attended in one day.[126] In 2011, a record 2 million people attended the city covering three different metro stations!

Suvaco do Cristo: Band that parades in the Botanic Garden, directly below the Redeemer statue's arm. The name translates to 'Christ's armpit' in English, and was chosen for that reason.

Carmelitas: Band that was supposedly created by nuns, but in fact is just a theme chosen by the band. It parades in Santa Teresa, a bairro from where one can see beautiful panoramas.

Simpatia é Quase Amor: One of the most popular parades in Ipanema. Translates as 'Friendliness is almost love'.

Banda de Ipanema : The most traditional in Ipanema. It attracts a wide range of revellers, including families and a wide spectrum of the LGBT/Queer population (notably spectacular drag queens).

In 1840, the first Carnaval was celebrated with a masked ball. As years passed, adorned floats and costumed revelers became a tradition among the celebrants. Carnaval is known as a historic root of Brazilian music.[127]

Samba Parade at the Sambódromo (Sambadrome) during the Rio Carnival.

Sports

Maracanã Stadium during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Maracanã Stadium during the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.See also: Sport in Brazil

Football

See also: Football in Brazil, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A and Campeonato Carioca

As in the rest of Brazil, football is the most popular sport. The city's major teams are Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama. Madureira, Bangu and Bonsucesso are three small clubs.

Rio de Janeiro was one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil was the host nation. The Maracanã Stadium hosted seven matches, including the final.

Football/soccer teamsClub League Venue Established (team)

Botafogo Série B Maracanã Stadium 1904

78,838 (173,850 record)

CR Flamengo Série AMaracanã Stadium

78,838 (173,850 record)1895

Fluminense FC Série AMaracanã Stadium

78,838 (173,850 record)1902

CR Vasco Série AEstádio São Januário

19,717 (25,000 record)1898

Madureira Série CEstádio Aniceto Moscoso

5,400 (10,762 record)1914

Bangu Campeonato CariocaEstádio Moça Bonita

9,564 (17,000 record)1904

Bonsucesso Campeonato CariocaEstádio Leônidas da Silva

13,000 (13,571 record)1913

Olympics

See also: 2007 Pan American Games, 2016 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Paralympics

João Havelange Olympic Stadium.

The 2007 Pan American Games Opening Ceremony in Maracanã Stadium.

On 2 October 2009, the International Olympic Committee selected Rio de Janeiro to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.[128] Rio made their first bid for the 1936 Summer Olympics, but lost to Berlin. They later made bids for the 2004 and 2012 Games, but failed to become a candidate city both times.