One of Rio's Most Iconic Celebrity Hangouts Is Turning 100
Copacabana Palace celebrates a big birthday this year — and you can join the party.
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Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Palace overlooks the iconic Copacabana Beach.Of all the world’s ultra-luxe hotels, few can claim a more consistently stylish track record than the Copacabana Palace. Its guest list includes generations of movie stars and royals, all of whom made it their go-to stay in Rio de Janeiro — including the future King Edward VIII, in 1931, and actors like Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot. Even Walt Disney checked in, ahead of the Brazilian premiere of "Fantasia."
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Brigitte Bardot in Rio in 1964.In 2023, the property — now operated by Belmond — marks 100 years overlooking the famed Copacabana Beach. In addition to a massive New Year’s Eve party, centennial events include “Tunnel of Time,” a special anniversary edition of the hotel’s Carnival ball, on February 18. Throughout the year, there will be events with international guest chefs, a gala dinner, and, in November, a commemorative book by travel writer Francisca Mattéoli, whose family have been patrons of the Copacabana Palace since it opened.
The hotel has also planned a multimedia revamp of its Hall of Fame corridor, where portraits of illustrious guests — Princess Diana, Antonio Banderas, and Mick Jagger among them — adorn the walls. Read on for a timeline of magical moments in Copacabana Palace history.
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Diners in the hotel's Golden Room.It Happened at the Copa
1923: Shortly after the hotel’s opening, King Albert I of Belgium becomes the first celebrity guest.
1928: Brazilian president Washington Luís is shot on the property by his mistress. (He survived.)
1933: The hotel is the setting for "Flying Down to Rio," the first on-screen pairing of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire.
1941: Walt Disney meets J. Carlos — creator of the animated parrot Zé Carioca — during a stay.
1942: After a bad breakup with Dolores del Rio, Orson Welles throws his room’s furniture out of the window.
1946: The casino is converted into a concert hall after a national gambling ban.
1959: Marlene Dietrich checks in during a cabaret tour and records the live album "Dietrich in Rio."
1989: The hotel is sold to Orient-Express Hotels (now Belmond).
Courtesy of Copacabana Palace, a Belmond Hotel
Cipriani at the Copacabana Palace.1994: Orient-Express opens an outpost of its beloved Cipriani restaurant.
2006: The Rolling Stones host a free concert on the beach in front of the hotel that is attended by nearly 1.5 million people.
2008: The Copacabana Palace is designated a site of cultural patrimony.
2012: The hotel completes a major renovation, expanding the lobby and remodeling multiple floors of guest rooms.
A version of this story first appeared in the February 2023 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline "A Century of Glamour."
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