The City of Rio de Janeiro, in partnership with the Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau (Rio CVB/Visit Rio), today (31) presented the map of opportunities for Rio de Janeiro over the next 10 years. The diagnosis points to 73 world-famous tournaments that the city is ready to host.

The study, the result of an agreement with 2IS, a Swiss consulting firm that monitors event opportunities in this segment, took into account criteria such as tourist attractiveness, availability of existing spaces, popularity and socio-economic relevance. According to estimates by Rio CVB/VisitRio, if the capital city of Rio de Janeiro manages to attract the ten most relevant events on the list, it could achieve, in a decade, an increase of around R$15 billion in local economic activity.

“One of the roles of the town hall is the generalization of access to sport. Moreover, a fundamental aspect for the construction of Rio’s identity is the strong impact of sporting events on the trajectory of our city. Today Rio has a set of sports facilities that allow it to bring major events here, which can have a fantastic economic impact on the city,” said Mayor Eduardo Paes.

The survey identified events of global impact. On the program, the world championships in men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball, horse riding, cycling, women’s football and athletics, in addition to the Pan American Games and the Presidents’ Cup (golf).

olympic legacy

The President of Rio CVB/VisitRio, Carlos Werneck, underlined that the infrastructure investments made by the city to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games were decisive for the development of the diagnosis. He stressed that this legacy will significantly reduce the investment needed to attract new events.

“The investment required to host sporting events in Brazil today is small, compared to what has already been invested in the formation of human capital and in the construction of stadiums, arenas, airports and all the physical infrastructure that we have today. Our idea is that we can move forward in this niche and explore the full potential of the city,” Werneck said.

For Rio Sports Secretary Guilherme Schleder, the survey has reinforced the importance of the city of Rio in the global sports landscape. “In the study, we can see the diversity of sporting events such as the Men’s and Women’s Basketball World Cup, the Volleyball World Cup and the Equestrian World Cup. In other words, sport for all tastes and audiences,” said Schleder.

According to the town hall, in addition to the physical infrastructure, the World Cup and the Olympic Games have enabled the qualification of personnel to international standards. During the Qatar Cup, for example, 350 Brazilians worked on the organization of the tournament. The curriculum of these professionals is one of the elements that constitute all the conditions for attracting new sporting events.