Happy 450th Birthday Rio!

Posted on February 27, 2015 by Critical Divide

On 1 March 2015 the city of Rio de Janeiro celebrated the 450th anniversary of its founding. The date relates to the first time the Portuguese really made an effort to set up a colony in Rio after driving out the French.

The Portuguese Government had first ordered the Governor General of Brazil, Mem de Sá, then resident in Bahia, to expel the French colony in 1560. His fleet entered the harbour of Rio on 21 February 1560, and in just two days he had taken control of the settlement. His job done, Mem de Sá returned to Bahia but without taking the precaution of establishing his own garrison. With Mem de Sá’s departure, the French returned, this time to set up camp on the mainland close to what is today Catete.

It would not be until 1565 that the Portuguese returned to Rio under the command of the Governor General’s nephew, Estácio de Sá, who landed on 1 March of that year (the date of the 450th anniversary) just west of Sugar Loaf. A bitter two-year struggle then ensued with the French defeated by the arrival of Mem de Sá himself on 18 January 1567. Two days later, on 20 January, Estácio de Sá was mortally wounded by an Indian arrow while in combat with the French settlers and their native allies. With the death of his nephew, Mem de Sá moved the site of the new town to Morro do Castelo, an area in front of what is today Santos Dumont Airport.

For a full history of Rio de Janeiro CLICK HERE

Rock in Rio 2015 takes shape

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Critical Divide

Queen, the stars of the first ever Rock in Rio in 1985, and Metallica are the latest acts to be added to the line-up for Rock in Rio 2015. Metallica (photo) last played Rock in Rio in 2013.

Queen and Metallica join other acts announced that include Katy Perry, who also performed in 2013, John Legend, A-Ha (that attracted a crowd of 198,000 in 1991, when the festival was staged at the Maracãna), System of a Down, Queens of the Stone Age (who played in 2001), Slipnot (who played in 2011), Faith No More (who played in 1991), and Hollywood Vampires, the group made up of Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Joe Perry.

The festival takes place between 18 and 27 September 2015 close to where the Olympic Village is being built.

Carnival 2015 in Focus

Posted on February 21, 2015 by Critical Divide

Beija-Flor wins carnival 2015

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Critical Divide

Beija-Flor (the humming bird) is the champion samba school of Rio’s 2015 carnival with a samba that was based on the historic links between Equatorial Guinea and Brazil. It was one of three schools to choose Brazil’s relationship with Africa as its theme. Viradouro, which also chose Africa, came last and was relegated.

It is Beija-Flor’s 13^th carnival title, the first since 2011.

Salgueiro was runner up with a theme that looked at the tastes and customs of the neighbouring state of Minas Gerais, while in third came Grande Rio who had as its theme cards.

Grande Rio tied on points with Portela, which looked at 450 years of Rio surreal, and last year’s champion, Unidos da Tijuca, that had a theme based around Switzerland and one of the great characters of carnival, Clovis Bornay.

In a closely fought contest the full results were:

Beija-Flor (269.9 points out of 270)
Salgueiro (269.5)
Grande Rio (269.0)
Portela (269.0)
Unidos da Tijuca (269.0)
Imperatriz Leopoldinense (268.9)
Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel (268.5)
São Clemente (268.4)
União da Ilha do Governador (267.2)
Mangueira (267.1)
Unidos de Vila Isabel (266.2)
Viradouro (263.7)

Athletics timetable for Rio 2016 is published

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Critical Divide

The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) has released the athletics’ timetable for the Rio Olympic Games in 2016 and it features finals during the morning sessions of the athletics programme.

“Staging finals in the morning was done at the request of the Rio 2016 Organising Committee and the Olympic Broadcasting Service, supported by the International Olympic Committee,” said IAAF competitions director Paul Hardy. “Having finals in the morning will also ensure that we receive maximum visibility for athletics at the Olympic Games across all time zones.”

There is at least one final in all of the morning sessions. All five road events – the two marathons and the three race walk events – will be held in the morning sessions, although both 20km race walks will be in the early afternoon. Other morning finals include the women’s 10,000m, men’s and women’s 3000m steeplechase, men’s 400m hurdles, men’s triple jump, men’s and women’s discus, and the women’s hammer.

For the full calendar – as of 15 December 2014 – click on the photo below, then click again to increase the size…

Vinicius and Tom are the names chosen for Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic mascots

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Critical Divide

The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games mascots have been named. The Olympic mascot will be called Vinicius and the Paralympic mascot will be called Tom. The names were chosen by a public vote with 323, 327 votes cast.

The names, which received 44 per cent of valid votes, pay tribute to the great Brazilian musicians and composers Vinicius de Moraes and Tom Jobim. The duo were a key part of the group that created Bossa Nova. Together, Vinicius and Tom wrote The Girl from Ipanema, one of the most-played songs of all time, and many other bossa nova classics..

Vinicius and Tom were chosen ahead of the other two shortlisted pairs of names: Oba and Eba, and Tiba Tuque and Esquindim.

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman said the public had chosen names that reflect the character of the Rio 2016 Games. “The names of Vinicius and Tom are recognised worldwide as a synonym for excellence, which is in line with what we want to achieve with the Rio 2016 Games,” he said. “In addition to representing the Brazilian fauna and flora, our mascots also connect to the best of our music. We are certain that they will be an inspiration to the youth.”

The origin of the Rio 2016 mascots blends fiction and reality. According to the “legend”, on 2 October 2009, when Rio de Janeiro was elected to host the Games, the great explosion of joy amongst Brazilians was felt by nature and from this energy the mascots were born.

Vinicius, the Rio 2016 Olympic Games mascot, represents all of the different animals in Brazil. He combines the agility of cats, the sway of monkeys and the grace of birds. He can stretch his arms and legs as much as he wants and has a very acute sense of smell and amazing powers of hearing.

Tom, the Paralympic mascot, is a fusion of plants found in Brazilian forests. He is energised by photosynthesis and can pull any object from his head of leaves. He is always growing and overcoming obstacles, and believes there is no challenge that cannot be solved.

Capoeira added to UN cultural heritage list

Posted on November 28, 2014 by Critical Divide

Brazil’s martial art and dance, Capoeira, has been added to the United Nation’s list of the world’s intangible cultural heritage. The program aims to draw attention to the importance of safeguarding intangible heritage, which has been identified by UNESCO as an essential component and a repository of cultural diversity and creative expression.

It is Brazil’s sixth listed intangible cultural heritage. Others on the list include Frevo and Samba da Roda.

Olympic mascots visit Rio de Janeiro

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Critical Divide

Ahead of Rio hosting the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2016 a group of mascots from previous games dropped in on the city to show their support. They included Misha (Moscow 1980), Athena (Athens 2004), Fu Niu Lele (Beijing 2008), Wenlock and Mandeville (London 2012).

The Olympic games will take place 5-21 August 2016 and the Paralympic 7-18 September 2016.

Rock in Rio 2015 card sells out in five hours

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Critical Divide

The first 100,000 tickets for Rock in Rio’s 30th anniversary shows in September 2015 sold out in just five hours when they were put on sale on 18 November 2014.

Fans will now have to wait until later in 2015 for the opportunity to by general tickets when they are released.

With few artists yet confirmed other than Katy Perry, John Legend and System of Down, fans that purchased the card will have first choice of days when the full schedule is confirmed.

Dates for the shows in 2015 are September 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 26 and 27.

The concerts take place in the Olympic Park.

Prior to the Rio shows, Rock in Rio will take place in Las Vegas in May 2014. Artists confirmed include Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Metallica, Linkin Park, No Doubt, Deftones, Joss Stone and John Legend.

Rio introduces new attractions to the international MICE market

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Critical Divide

The Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau (RCVB), which is celebrating its 30^th anniversary, is introducing some of Rio de Janeiro’s many new attractions and facilities to the market during the WTM in London, as well as discussing improvements to the city’s infrastructure and transport post FIFA World Cup and pre-Olympic and Paralympic games.

Earlier this year Brazil hosted one of the most successful World Cups ever, with Rio de Janeiro hosting a total of seven games at the city’s iconic Maracanã Stadium, including the final on 13 July. Now the city is preparing to host the Olympic (5-21 August 2016) and Paralympic games (7-18 September 2016), making the city an ideal destination and venue for MICE events post 2016.

Even before the Olympic games, Rio has a great reason to celebrate as in 2015 the city will be celebrating the 450^th anniversary of its founding. The celebrations will last from 1 January 2015 through carnival 2015 and 2016, on until 1 March 2016. More details and a growing calendar of events can be found at HERE

The RCVB will be located on the Brazil stand at the WTM (LA 100), but are also hosting a reception for the MICE market along with RioTur and LATAM on board the London Sunborn Yacht Hotel on Tuesday, 4 November. RCVB will also support and sponsor an evening reception during the WTM with the Latin American Travel Association and Air Europa at the historic St John’s Smith Square.

Olympic Park

Scheduled to host sixteen Olympic and ten Paralympic competitions, the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca is already taking shape in an area of 1.2 million square meters where the Jacarepaguá motor circuit – that used to host the Brazilian Formula 1 Grand Prix – was located.

New facilities are being built at the Olympic Park for the games that will later be used by the city and event organisers. These include a new velodrome; a large, modern tennis centre; a media centre and an international TV transmission hub, and close by, the city’s new golf course. Temporary installations will, as in London, be built for some of the sports, such as a handball arena that after the event will be transformed into four municipal schools.

An extension of the Olympic Park already hosts Rock in Rio, South America’s largest music festival, which is next scheduled to take place in September 2015 when it will be celebrating its 30^th anniversary.

Hotels

Barra da Tijuca, where the Olympic Village is being built, has always been a key destination for the MICE market in Rio de Janeiro due to it being the location of RioCentro, the city’s main exhibition centre, a complex that will also be used as an Olympic and Paralympic venue in 2016.

According to the recent study by the Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau and ABIH-RJ (Brazilian Association of the Hotel Industry – State of Rio de Janeiro), this region of Rio will have a capacity of 12,850 hotel rooms by 2016. Among the chains to operate new hotels in the area are Blue Tree, Grand Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott, Pestana, Ramada, and Trump.

The Port Area

One of Rio de Janeiro’s most rapidly developing new attractions is the city’s port area (www.portomaravilha.com.br) that is undergoing a total redevelopment and refurbishment, and which recently has hosted major art and fashion events as well as the city’s international film festival, Festival do Rio.

The area already has attractions such as the new and very popular Rio Museum of Art, as well as famous gastronomic and cultural centres around the Morro da Conceição, such as Pedra do Sal and Largo da Prainha.

Work is already well underway on the construction of the Museum of Tomorrow, which jutting out into the bay is likely to become a city landmark in its own right when it opens in 2015.

Other attractions in the Port area include the Valongo Suspended Garden, Conceição Fort, Conceição Episcopal Palace, and the Cemitério dos Pretos Novos, which is an archaeological site of an old African slave cemetery. The city’s historic British Cemetery is also located in this area of Rio.

Across town, closer to Copacabana, Casa Daros is a top art gallery that has one of the most complete collections dedicated to Latin American contemporary art, with around 1,200 works of art, including paintings, photographs, videos, sculptures and installations.

Casa Daros is a space for art, education, communication and events, and occupies a 19th century neoclassic mansion, preserved under the Historic Heritage of the city of Rio de Janeiro and designed by the architect Francisco Joaquim Bethencourt da Silva (1831-1912).

The RCVB can be contacted by phone in Rio de Janeiro on (+55) 21 2266-9750 or by email at rcvb@rcvb.com.br.

Rio the Guide

The Insider's Guide to Rio de Janeiro

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