Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Christ Redeemer statue will be wearing the green this St Patrick’s Day, writes Tom Hennigan.
Orani João Tempesta, the Brazilian city’s Catholic archbishop, has given the go-ahead for the 80-year- old art deco masterpiece to be bathed in green to celebrate Ireland’s patron saint.
Named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World the Cristo Redentor, which sits atop a mountain rising out of a rain forest surrounded by a metropolis of 12 million inhabitants, is Brazil’s most recognisable symbol.