Reopening of the Sambodromo, archery venue for Rio 2016

The new Sambodromo, stage of archery and the finish line of the Rio 2016 marathon, has reopened after major renovation between June 2011 and February 2012. The inauguration took place on Sunday, 12 February. More than 1,000 athletes and Carnival revellers took part in a 5.5 kilometres race that marked the reopening of the Sambodromo, the stage of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival's samba school parades and venue for the archery events at the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as the start and finish for the Olympic marathon. The Sambodromo is the "stadium" of samba. It consists of the Parading Avenue (the samba runway) and several independent concrete structures for the spectators (the bleachers) both sides along the Parading Avenue. The Sambodromo—also known as the Marques de Sapucai Avenue—is located right at the heart of Rio de Janeiro The Sambodromo was designed by Brazil's world-famous architect, the modernist Oscar NIEMEYER, 104 years old. It was purpose-built for the Samba Parade and was inaugurated in 1984. It was under reconstruction from June 2011 to February 2012 according to NIEMEYER's original design and will hold around 90,000 spectators from 2012 Carnival onwards, to accommodate the ever-growing Rio Carnival Parade and for the opening ceremonies of the 2016 Olympic Games. World Archery Communication