Copacabana
Encyclopedia
Borough
A borough is an administrative division in various countries. In principle, the term borough designates a self-governing township although, in practice, official use of the term varies widely....
located in the southern zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. It's known for its 4 km beach
Beach
A beach is a geological landform along the shoreline of an ocean, sea, lake or river. It usually consists of loose particles which are often composed of rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles or cobblestones...
, which is one of the most famous in the world.
History
The district was originally called Sacopenapã (translated from the tupi language, it means "the way of the socós (a kind of bird)") until the mid-18th century. It was renamed after the construction of a chapel holding a replica of the Virgen de CopacabanaVirgen de Copacabana
The Virgen de Copacabana is the patron saint of Bolivia. She is venerated in Bolivia during her feast day of February 2, the day of the Purification of Mary, or feast of the Virgen de la Candelaria...
, the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.
Characteristics
Copacabana begins at Princesa Isabel Avenue and ends at Posto Seis (lifeguardLifeguard
A lifeguard supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, or beach. Lifeguards are strong swimmers and trained in first aid, certified in water rescue using a variety of aids and equipment depending on...
watchtower Six). Beyond Copacabana, there are two small beaches: one, inside Fort Copacabana
Fort Copacabana
Fort Copacabana is a military base at the south end of the beach that defines the district of Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro...
and other, right after it: Diabo ("Devil") Beach. Arpoador
Arpoador
Arpoador is an affluent neighborhood located on the southern zone of the city Rio de Janeiro, in a small peninsula between Ipanema and Copacabana.-Surfing:...
beach, where surfers used to go after its perfect waves, comes in the sequence, followed by the famous borough of Ipanema
Ipanema
For other uses, see Ipanema . For the British rock band, see Ipanema .Ipanema is a neighborhood located in the southern region of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between Leblon and Arpoador...
. The area will be one of the four "Olympic Zones" during the 2016 Summer Olympics
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
.
According to Riotur, the Tourism Secretariat of Rio de Janeiro, there are 63 hotels and 10 hostels in Copacabana.
Copacabana Beach
Copacabana beach stretches from Posto Dois (lifeguard watchtower Two) to Posto Seis (lifeguard watchtower Six). LemeLeme (Rio de Janeiro)
Leme is a neighborhood in the Zona Sul of the City of Rio de Janeiro, next to Copacabana, Urca and Botafogo. The neighborhood takes its name from a nearby rock formation whose shape resembles the rudder of a ship....
is at Posto Um (lifeguard watchtower One). There are historic forts at both ends of Copacabana beach; Fort Copacabana, built in 1914, is at the south end by Posto Seis and Fort Duque de Caxias, built in 1779, at the north end. One curiosity is that the lifeguard watchtower of Posto Seis never existed.
Hotels, restaurants, bars, night clubs and residential buildings dot the promenade.
Copacabana Beach plays host to millions of revellers during the annual New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
celebrations and, in most years, has been the official venue of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
The FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is a bi-annual international beach soccer competition contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. The tournament has taken place every year since its establishment in 1995, when it was originally supervised...
.
Copacabana promenade
The Copacabana promenade is a pavement landscape in large scale (4 kilometres long). It was completed in 1970 and has used a black and white PortuguesePortugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
pavement design since its origin in the 1930s: a geometric wave. The Copacabana promenade was designed by Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx
Roberto Burle Marx was a Brazilian landscape architect whose designs of parks and gardens made him world famous. He is accredited with having introduced modernist landscape architecture to Brazil...
.
Living standard
Copacabana has the 11th highest Human Development IndexHuman Development Index
The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
in Rio, the 2000 census put the HDI
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is a composite statistic used to rank countries by level of "human development" and separate "very high human development", "high human development", "medium human development", and "low human development" countries...
of Copacabana at 0.902.
The borough
According to the IBGEIBGE
The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics or IBGE , is the agency responsible for statistical, geographic, cartographic, geodetic and environmental information in Brazil...
, 160,000 people live in Copacabana and 44,000 or 27.5% of them are 60 years old or older. Copacabana covers an area of 7.84 km² which gives the borough a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 20,400 people per km².
Residential buildings eleven to thirteen stories high built right next to each other dominate the borough. Houses and two-story buildings are rare.
Transportation
More than 40 different bus routes serve Copacabana, as do four subway MetroRio de Janeiro Metro
The Rio de Janeiro Metro is a mass-transit underground railway network that serves the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Founded in 1979 with five stations operating on one line, it now covers 47 km divided into two lines and 35 stations...
stations: Cantagalo, Siqueira Campos, Cardeal Arcoverde and General Osório
Three major arteries parallel to each other cut across the entire borough: Atlantic Avenue, which is a 6 lane 4 km avenue by the beachside, Nossa Senhora de Copacabana Avenue and Barata Ribeiro/Raul Pompéia Street both of which are 4 lanes and 3.5 km in length. Barata Ribeiro Street changes its name to Raul Pompéia Street after the Sá Freire Alvim Tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
. Twenty-four streets intersect all three major arteries, and seven other streets intersect some of the three, but not all.
Notable events
- On 26 April 1949, broke in two as she was being towed into Rio de Janeiro harbour. Much of her cargo of orangesOrange (fruit)An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
was washed up upon the beach.
- On December 31, 1994, the New Year's Eve celebrations featured a Rod StewartRod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
concert, which featured 3.5 million, making it the largest concert crowd ever. More recently, the beach has been a site for huge free concerts unrelated to the year-end festivities. On March 21, 2005, Lenny KravitzLenny KravitzLeonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
performed there in front of 300,000 people, on a Monday night. On February 18, 2006, a Saturday, The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
surpassed that mark by far, attracting over 1.5 million people to the beach.
- On July 7, 2007, the beach hosted the Brazilian legLive Earth concert, Rio de JaneiroThe Live Earth concert for South America was held at Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 7, 2007. It is one of two free Live Earth concerts, the other being held in Washington, D.C. It was the last concert to start during the day-long event. However, that didn't make it the last to...
of the Live Earth concertsLive Earth (2007 concert)Live Earth is an annual event developed to combat climate change. The first series of benefit concerts were held on July 7, 2007. The concerts brought together more than 150 musical acts in eleven locations around the world which were broadcast to a mass global audience through televisions, radio,...
, which attracted 400,000 people. As the headliner, Lenny KravitzLenny KravitzLeonard Albert "Lenny" Kravitz is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and arranger, whose "retro" style incorporates elements of rock, soul, R&B, funk, reggae, hard rock, psychedelic, folk and ballads...
got to play the venue a second time, with Jorge Benjor, Macy GrayMacy GrayMacy Gray is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis.Gray has released five studio albums, with her fifth studio album, The Sellout,...
, O RappaO RappaO Rappa is a Brazilian reggae/rock band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They combine many styles such as Rock, Reggae, Funk, Hip hop and Samba...
and Pharrell as the main opening acts, on October 2, 2009, 100,000 people filled the beach for a huge beach party as the IOC announced Rio would be hosting the 2016 Olympics. 11 of the 15 FIFA Beach Soccer World CupFIFA Beach Soccer World CupThe FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup is a bi-annual international beach soccer competition contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. The tournament has taken place every year since its establishment in 1995, when it was originally supervised...
s have taken place here.
Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
had 2 concerts cancelled at the famous beach. The first in 2006 (New Year Party) and the second in 2007 (Red Piano Free Concert)