Maracanã

Few grounds have shrunk as dramatically as this one. When it opened for the 1950 World Cup, official capacity stood at 155,000. For the final against Uruguay, attendance was put at 199,854, with some estimates reaching 210,854 — the highest this ground has ever recorded. Uruguay sensed blood and won 2-1, a result the city has never quite let go of.

Three rounds of work, in 1999-2000, 2005-2007 and 2010-2013, replaced the old standing terraces with seats and brought capacity down to the 78,838 it holds today. The surface changed too: since 2022 it has been a hybrid pitch, Bermuda grass reinforced with synthetic fibres.

Officially it carries the name Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, after the journalist who pushed for it to be built, though almost no one calls it that. Four of Rio's biggest clubs treat it as home ground: Flamengo and Fluminense hold the concession to run it, while Vasco da Gama and Botafogo still bring their own fixtures here.

The stadium has carried tragedy as well as glory. In July 1992, a barrier gave way on a packed tier during a match between Flamengo and Botafogo, killing three people and injuring dozens more, and the ground was closed for seven months. It has also pulled some of music's largest crowds, from Frank Sinatra's concert in 1980 to visits by the Rolling Stones, Sting, Coldplay and two popes.