100 fun facts about Rio de Janeiro

As the 2016 Olympic Games get underway, Telegraph Travel unearths 100 facts about the host city, Rio de Janeiro.

It’s named after a river that doesn’t exist

Legend dictates that Portuguese explorers, who landed in present day Rio in January 1502, mistook the iconic bay for the mouth of a river. They proceeded to name the area Rio de Janeiro (“River of January”), which stuck despite being wholly inaccurate.

Street art is legal

Rio has become a giant canvas for some of the world’s best-loved street artists, thanks to its liberal policy on graffiti. Providing they have permission, painters are free to spray away, adding to the rich mosaic of street art that adorns the city.

• The best things to see and do in Rio

It hosted the world's biggest ever football match

The 1950 World Cup Final, between Uruguay and Brazil, remains the highest attended match ever. Officially, 173,850 spectators crammed into Rio’s Maracanã Stadium, though unofficially there were said to be many more. The game is remembered as a national tragedy, however: Brazil lost 2-1.

And the largest ever concert...

Rod Stewart played to an estimated 3.5 million people on Copacabana beach in 1994.

...which not even the Rolling Stones could top

The ageing rockers pulled in just 1.5 million when they played at the same location in 2006. 

Rio 2016 will be South America’s first Games

And they’re not without controversy: many citizens question the ethics of spending 39.1bn reals (£7.5bn) on the Games when so many of its citizens live in poverty. 

• The 10 best hotels for Rio 2016

The French held it to ransom...

When French privateers captured gold-rich Rio in 1711, the Portuguese were forced to negotiate for its return. The ransom: 612,000 gold cruzados and 100 chests of sugar.

...and the Portuguese paid up

Leaving the French to enjoy the sweet taste of victory, literally.

The city’s nickname is ‘Cidade Maravilhosa’

Which, if you’re Portuguese is up to scratch, you will know means “Marvellous City”.

Locals are called ‘cariocas’

Which is pronounced care-ree-o-cas.

A mythical jester runs the city

During Carnival the mayor hands over the keys of the city to a man called King Momo. This legendary 'party animal' then takes the helm throughout the jamboree, but he slopes off at the end, presumably to nurse his hangover.

Its Carnival is the world’s largest

Kicking off 40 days before Lent, Rio Carnival is the biggest and brashest jamboree of its kind.

• In pictures: Rio Carnival

It was once capital of the Portuguese Empire

Between 1815 and 1822, Rio served as the centre for the exiled royal court of Portugal, which had been driven from the motherland by Napoleon.

It was also the capital of Brazil

Some mistakenly think Rio is Brazil’s capital, but that honour actually belongs to Brasilia. It hadn’t always been that way: between 1763 and 1960, Rio was top dog (many still consider it the beating heart of Brazil).

It gets cramped

According to the last census some 6.3 million inhabitants squeeze into Rio, making it Brazil’s second largest metropolis (after Sao Paulo).

It features on the Brazilian flag

The stars on the Brazilian standard represent the sky over Rio on the night of 15 November 1889, the date of the proclamation of the Brazilian republic.

Its Christ the Redeemer statue is electric

Owing to its lofty location, Rio’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue is frequently struck by lightning – what was that about never striking twice in the same place? Most incidents pass without drama, but in 2014 the effigy lost a thumb during a storm.

The “Brazilian” was born in Rio…

The fashion for women removing all or most of their pubic hair began on the beaches of Rio, where the thong was enthusiastically embraced.

…but it’s name was coined in the US

The term “Brazilian”, though, was first uttered in a Manhattan salon.

It’s more fun at night

“Here the morning is born like everywhere in the world, but a feeling vibrates that things loved each other during the night,” wrote Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade.

It has a bird named after it

The Rio de Janeiro antwren is endemic to Brazil, though habitat loss has rendered the species critically endangered.

It’s home to Brazil’s largest favela

Rocinha is the biggest favela in Brazil. Officials claim 70,000 inhabitants are crammed in there, but unofficial estimates reckon 180,000 is closer to the mark.

It’s safer than Detroit…

Despite its reputation for violence, Rio’s murder rate is 18.6 per 100,000 making it significantly safer than Detroit (44).

...and the rest of Brazil

Though Rio has cleaned up its act, the rest of the country has far to go: 22 out of 50 of the world’s most violent cities are in Brazil.

It wasn’t always that way

As the Brazilian film director, Jose Padilha once said: “In Rio de Janeiro, every cop has to make a choice. He either turns dirty, keeps his mouth shut, or goes to war”.

Locals eat the entrails of goats…

Brazil’s take on haggis, buchada uses the innards – intestines, heart, lungs, etc. – of a goat, which is cooked inside its stomach. Though a speciality of northern Brazil, you can find it on menus in Rio.

…but the national dish is feijoada

Eaten throughout Brazil, this hearty stew is made from black beans, sausages and low-grade cuts of pork (typically trotters and ears). 

• The best restaurants in Rio

It’s a thirsty city

And Brahma quenches that thirst. Brazil’s oldest beer, this light lager is brewed in Rio and consumed in heroic quantities. 

There’s an Osama bin Laden-themed bar

Bartender Ceará Francisco Helder Braga Fernandes was made aware of his likeness to Osama bin Laden after 9/11. Rather than shying away from the comparison, he embraced it, renaming his Sao Paulo watering hole Bar do Bin Laden. He has since opened a sister bar, Caverna do Bin Laden, in Rio.

Michael Jackson filmed here

And there’s a bronze statue dedicated to him in the Santa Marta favela, where the superstar shot the video to the song They Don’t Care About Us.

It’s home to Cemitério São João Batista

Rio’s take on Paris’ Père Lachaise Cemetery, this labyrinthine graveyard is the resting place for some of Brazil’s best-known entertainers, musicians and politicians. It’s also home to an impressive range of architectural styles.

Prostitution is legal

Paying for intercourse is not illegal in Rio, or the rest of Brazil, and it’s not uncommon to see sex workers plying their trade on the streets.

Motels are best avoided

Known locally as “love motels”, this is where sex workers conduct their business. 

It looks best from Sugarloaf Mountain

For the best panoramas scale the granite peak of Sugarloaf Mountain, which, at 396m, looms large above the city. 

Monkeys live nearby

Not just any monkeys, golden lion tamarin monkeys. They are endangered, alas, though determined wildlife watchers can see them in nearby jungles.    

There’s a Strokes connection

The musician Fabrizio Moretti entered the world via Rio, before moving to New York and joining the band The Strokes as drummer.

Ayrton Senna is honoured here

The F1 ace, a national hero in Brazil, has several roads named after him.

• How Brazilians became the cool cats of contemporary art

It has one of the world’s oldest tramways

Opened in 1877, the Santa Teresa Tram is one of the oldest street railways in the world. It’s certainly the oldest in South America.

It’s the gay capital of Brazil

14 per cent of the population class themselves as non-heterosexual.

There’s an abandoned theme park

Terra Encantada opened to much fanfare in 1998, but a series of accidents, strikes and a violent street fight forced the US$200m attraction to close in 2010. Its rusting remains haunt the Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood.   

The city moves to many beats

Brought to Latin America by African slaves, Samba is the dominant musical representation of Brazil. However, locals shake their meat to various beats.