• 1 https://www.sunsetanywhere.com/visiter-corcovado-rio/

1As Dario Moreno, a Turkish-born singer specializing in Latin-American exoticism, once sang in his best-known song, which was a hit in France in 1959: "Si tu vas à Rio, n'oublie pas de monter là-haut" ("If you're going to Rio, don't forget to go up there"). Today, tourism websites and agencies say the same thing: "If you've decided to spend a few days in Rio, you'll definitely want to climb Corcovado. And rightly so. The site of Christ the Redeemer is a dream come true. It offers one of the most beautiful views in Rio and probably one of the most beautiful views in South America."1

• 2 See footnote 1

3Alas, as the same site frankly acknowledges: "But this dreamlike experience requires (a little) organization [...] It's true that it's a very touristy place and the queue can be quite long."2

• 3 https://oglobo.globo.com/blogs/ancelmo-gois/post/2023/07/cristo-redentor-em-seis-meses-numero-de-vi (...)

4In fact, many tourists have the same idea: by July 1, 2023, over 655,000 people had already visited the site on the minibuses that take them to Corcovado, an increase of 45% on the same period the previous year (449,000 visitors). The mini-train to the summit has already carried 538,000 visitors, while 777,000 tickets have been purchased for the whole of 2022.3

• 4 https://www.sunsetanywhere.com/visiter-corcovado-rio/

5There's no escaping the queues by taking the little cogwheel train up to the summit: "There will always be a delay between the time you pick up your tickets and your train's timetable. Even if the little Cosmo Velho station is charming, you probably won't want to spend 1h30 waiting for your train..."4 But the main problem is the management of minibuses, which are becoming increasingly popular as they pick up tourists in the city center or near their hotels.

• 5 https://diariodorio.com/cristo-redentor-atinge-a-marca-de-dez-milhoes-de-visitantes-por-meio-das-va (...)

6In her Diario de Rio article entitled "Christ the Redeemer reaches ten million visitors by official minibuses," Gabrielle Lopes announced on May 25, 2023 that "this Thursday morning Christ the Redeemer welcomed its ten millionth visitor transported by the official vans of Paineiras-Corcovado, the company that has been transporting visitors to the monument since 2012," so not counting those who take the train, private buses or arrive by cab or car to the "Visitor Center."5

• 6 https://www.viajenaviagem.com/cristo-redentor-centro-de-visitantes/

7In fact, since it's impossible to park at the summit, which is so cramped, a welcome center has been set up to regulate the flow of visitors. As stated on its website, "The new Corcovado welcome center and the changes it will bring to your visit to Christ the Redeemer."6 The new visitor center, set up in the former Hotel das Paineiras at the start of the last stretch of road leading to Christ the Redeemer, has reorganized visits for all those arriving by road. The idea behind the new center was to comply with safety standards and put an end to long queues on the last stretch of road, which is now handled exclusively by the park concessionaire's minibuses. It takes just under 15 minutes for them to reach the top of Corcovado, and their passengers join those who have boarded directly from the Corcovado train.

• 7 https://www.sunsetanywhere.com/visiter-corcovado-rio/

9Yet the same can be said - and more seriously - of the time spent on the terraces surrounding the base of the Christ statue, as shown in figures 1 and 2. As the aforementioned site puts it: "Beware, the promontory is likely to be overrun. If you make it to the edge of the promontory, stay there for a few minutes."7

• 8 https://www.francetvinfo.fr/culture/arts-expos/louvre/musee-du-louvre-des-quotas-pour-reguler-l-aff (...)

13Given the difficulties of regulating the ever-increasing number of visitors, it will no doubt be necessary to introduce access quotas and compulsory booking, as the Louvre has done. The world's largest museum was a forerunner in France, but a number of museums and monuments abroad are already applying the compulsory reservation policy. "One example is the Sagrada Família in Barcelona. To visit it, you have to book [well] in advance," explains Carine Azzopardi "[...] This is also the case for the Borghese Gallery in Rome, the Alhambra in Granada, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Faced with the overcrowding of these monuments, the response is drastic: no reservations, no visits".8.