Rio de Janeiro
Located in the heart of the city is the Riocentro Convention Centre in the upmarket Barra da Tijuca district. It comprises of six inter-connected pavilions offering more than 87,000 sqm of space. It offers cutting-edge facilities and four of the pavilions at the centre are fully-climatised. It also has a heliport and 28 meeting rooms with seating facilities for up to 4,500 people. It is the largest exhibition centre in Latin America and four of its pavilions were proposed as venues in Rio’s bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The capacity of the pavilions ranges from 2,000-4,500 people.
Olympic Park
The new Olympic Park, which is being built on 300 acres will virtually transform Rio’s meetings and convention dynamics. It is a spectacular location with a backdrop of rugged mountains and juts out into an inner-harbour lagoon. With 34 state-of-theart venues, a hi-tech media centre, accommodation villages, parks, walkways, restaurants and shops – it will be a much sought after meeting and convention venue post Olympics.
Festival fun
The two-week cultural festival, Rio Carnival, held every year in February, is the highlight event of the city with its magnificent costumes, dance and the sheer energy that overflows into the streets and local barras (suburbs).