RIO DE JANEIRO
Brazil
One of 20 GPFL Host Cities
KEY STADIUMS
Maracanã Stadium 78,838
Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos 46,931
POPULATION
Metro 13,634,000 (2022)
Urban 6,453,682 (2022)
Main Attractions
Christ the Redeemer, Escadaria Selarón, Sugarloaf Mountain, Copacabana Beach, Tijuca National Park
Other Sports Venues
Ginásio do Maracanãzinho Basketball, Volleyball, Autódromo Internacional Nelson Piquet Motor Sport (F1)
Most Visited City Ranking
92
World's Best City Ranking
54
Why did we choose Rio?
The home of Brazilian football and the site of the legendary Maracanã – how could Rio de Janeiro not be our inaugural Brazilian base for a GPFL club? It has to be.
RIO DE JANEIRO
Rio de Janeiro (literally ‘River of January’), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil’s third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo, and the sixth-most populous city in the Americas. Part of the city was designated as a World Heritage Site on 1 July 2012 as a Cultural Landscape.
This is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, carnival, samba, bossa nova, and balneario beaches such as Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon.
In addition to the beaches, some of the most famous landmarks 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 (Sambadrome), a permanent grandstand-lined parade avenue which is used during Carnival; and Maracanã Stadium, one of the world’s largest football stadiums.