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Brazil ⁱ/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil,  listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.

Rio de Janeiro (English pronunciation: /riːoʊ deɪ ʒəˈnɛəroʊ/ or /ˈriːoʊ deɪ dʒəˈnɛəroʊ/; local Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈʁi.u dʒi ʒaˈnejɾu], River of January), commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th largest in the Americas, and 26th in the world.

The city was the capital of Brazil for nearly two centuries, from 1763 to 1815 during the Portuguese colonial era, 1815 to 1821 as the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and Algarves, 1822 to 1960 as an independent nation. Rio is nicknamed the Cidade Maravilhosa or "Marvelous City."

Rio de Janeiro represents the second largest GDP in the country (and 30th largest in the world in 2008), estimated at about R$ 343 billion (IBGE/2008) (nearly US$ 201 billion), and is the headquarters of two major Brazilian companies – Petrobras and Vale, and major oil companies and telephony in Brazil, besides the largest conglomerate of media and communications companies in Latin America, the Globo Organizations. The home of many universities and institutes, it is the second largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17% of national scientific production – according to 2005 data.

Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, mostly known as "Lagoa", is a lagoon and district in the Lagoa, Zona Sul (South Zone) of Rio de Janeiro. The lagoon is connected to the Atlantic, allowing sea water to enter, by a canal which is bordered by the park locally known as Jardim de Alá.

The lagoon is surrounded by the districts of Ipanema, Leblon, Gávea, Jardim Botânico, Copacabana, Botafogo, and Humaitá. It attracts quite a number of visitors during the Christmas holidays due to its famous and gigantic Christmas Tree, which is built over a floating platform that moves around the lagoon. The Eva Klabin Foundation is located on the banks of the lagoon. The lagoon will host canoe sprint and rowing events for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and rowing events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics.

The lagoon has several environmental problems, including water as well as land pollution. There is currently a project sponsored by the EBX to remediate the lagoon, however this will not be quick or simple.