Maracanã Stadium

Football Stadium Opened For The 1950 World Cup, Host Of The 1950 And 2014 World Cup Finals And The 2016 Olympic Opening And Closing Ceremonies · Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro

The Maracanã is the most famous football stadium in the world's most football-mad country. It opened for the 1950 World Cup, when crowds of close to 200,000 packed it and Brazil lost the deciding match to Uruguay, a defeat still remembered in Brazil as the Maracanaço. It hosted the 2014 World Cup final and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Olympics. Rebuilt with individual seats and a new roof, it now holds a little under 80,000, and it is the home ground of Flamengo and Fluminense, two of Brazil's biggest clubs. There are two ways to see it. A stadium tour takes visitors through the changing rooms, onto the edge of the pitch and past the walk of fame of footprints from great players. A match is the better way: a Flamengo or Fluminense game, and above all the Fla-Flu derby between them, brings drums, flags and singing that last the whole game. Matches are cheap by European standards but tickets can be hard to get for the big games, and the area around the stadium needs care after dark.

Avenida Presidente Castelo Branco, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

There are two ways in and they run on different rules. Stadium tours operate on most days through the daytime, but they are cancelled or cut short on match days and when the stadium is hired for concerts or events, sometimes at short notice, so confirm the day before you cross the city. Matches follow the Brazilian calendar: the Rio state championship early in the year, then the national league and cup competitions through to December. Games are typically on Wednesday or Thursday evenings and at weekends, and kick-off times are set by television and can move within a week or two of the date, so do not lock in a flight around a fixture. Flamengo home tickets usually go first to club members, and big games, above all the Fla-Flu derby and cup knockout ties, can be gone before general sale opens. Gates open well before kick-off and security queues are slow. Night games finish late, and the safest exit is with the crowd to the metro.

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