Maracanã

Location: Rio de Janerio, Brazil
Capacity: 78,838 (199,854 record 1950)
Home teams:

• Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
• Fluminense FC
• Brazil national football team (selected matches)

Located in the Maracanã neighbourhood of Rio De Janeiro, the stadium is part of a complex that includes an arena known by the name of Maracanãzinho, which means “The Little Maracanã” in Portuguese. The stadium was opened in 1950 for the FIFA World Cup, in which Brazil was beaten 2-1 in the final by Uruguay in front of 199,854. The venue has held over 150,000 people 26 times, the last in 1983 as 155,253 spectators saw Flamengo beat Santos 3-0. The venue has also seen crowds of over 100,000 people 284 times. However, crowd numbers have decreased significantly over the time since seats replaced terraced sections and the renovations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup saw the capacity drop to 78,838 but remains the largest stadium in Brazil and the second largest in South America.

In 1992, an upper stand in the stadium collapsed during a Campeonato Brasileiro Série A match between Botafogo and Flamengo leading to the death of three and injuring another 50 spectators. Following this disaster, the decision was made to reduce the stadium’s capacity. In 1998, the venue classified a national landmark, meaning it could not be demolished and therefore only renovations could be made.

The stadium was also the primary stadium for the 2016 Rio Olympic games, hosting the opening and the closing ceremonies. Along with this, the venue has hosted numerous musical acts including Frank Sinatra performing in front of approximately 175,000 people in 1980, 1991’s Rock In Rio which saw acts such as Prince, Guns N’ Roses, George Michael and INXS fit the bill and more recently the Foo Fighters in 2015. The stadium is currently used mainly for major football matches and is the home of Flamengo, Fluminense, Botafogo and Vasco da Gama.