Featured image credit: André Motta/CC BY 3.0 BR/Edited for size
Rio de Janeiro’s Olympic Park is set to be transformed into a wide-ranging entertainment complex as part of an agreement between the Rock in Rio music festival and Genial Investimentos.
The complex, dubbed Projeto Imagine, will include an amusement park, gastronomic centre, museum and an ice-skating rink. It has been billed as the largest entertainment complex in Latin America and it is anticipated that it will have an economic impact of more than R$9bn (£1.22bn/€1.45bn/$1.6bn) in its first year of operation.
The plans have been presented by Roberto Medina, who created Rock in Rio and serves as president of Rock World, which runs the festival. It is hoped that Projeto Imagine, named after John Lennon, will be completed by January 2028.
The Rio Olympic Park was built for the city’s hosting of the Olympic Games in 2016. The complex features several multi-purpose venues, as well as facilities for aquatics, tennis and cycling.
“We will use all our expertise to build, together with the various levels of municipal, state and federal government, a policy that places tourism as the main vocation of this city and the country,” Medina said, according to CNN Brasil. “What would take years to build will be done in a period of three to four years.”
Rodolfo Riechert, chief executive of Genial Investimentos, added: “This is a transformational project for Rio de Janeiro. Genial Investimentos has been a long-time investor in Rio de Janeiro, and together with our partner Roberto Medina we will help make Imagine a reality.”
The theme park at Projeto Imagine will span 56,000 square metres and feature an ‘Iron Mountain’ rollercoaster. A resort featuring 750 apartments will also be integrated into the complex and will feature swimming pools and balconies overlooking the theme park.
A 40,000-capacity amphitheatre, the largest in Latin America, is also planned, while a museum will be dedicated to the Rio 2016 Olympics. The former Olympic Broadcast Center will be transformed into an innovation and entertainment hub, featuring a food court, a gaming area and an ice-skating rink.
It is hoped that Projeto Imagine will serve as the long-term permanent home of Rock in Rio.
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