Rio celebrates anniversary with eight-ton cake

Rio celebrated its 450th anniversary on Sunday (March 1st) with an eight-ton, 450-meter cake. The party was complete with two bands and carnival groups, and cake pieces were given out to passers-by in the city center, one of the locations chosen for the celebration.

Mayor Eduardo Paes gave the first slice of the cake to Rio Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão, who repayed the favor with the second serving. Local Archbishop Orani Tempesta was also at the party, bringing with him the pilgrim statue of Saint Sebastian, patron saint of the city. “Rio is a forward-looking city and now it's moving to next level,” the mayor said in a reference to the 2016 Olympic Games.

As part of the celebrations, President Dilma Rousseff joined the governor and mayor to unveil the Rio 450 tunnel on Sunday afternoon. The project is the final touch in one of the major road projects that are part of a broader program to recover Rio's port area.

The president congratulated the city on its 450 years and said the dockland project places Rio in the international forefront of urban overhaul initiatives. The 1,480-meter long, three-lane Rio 450 tunnel connects the docks to the city center, and was designed for a daily traffic of 55,000 vehicles.

Located 40 meters deep, the tunnel is the first in the city to be built below sea level. For rainwater drainage, the project includes a tank holding 370,000 liters of water and five pumps. Activity in the tunnel will be monitored by 28 people through 32 security cameras.

Translated by Mayra Borges

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