MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Olympic City Rio do Janeiro boasts world’s largest floating Xmas tree

The 85 metre high tree has almost three million lights

The lights are blazing from the world's largest floating Christmas tree -- a gigantic 85-metre high metal structure set on a lagoon in Rio de Janeiro, the city that will host the 2016 Olympic Games.

Despite the rain, some 100,000 people flocked around the Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon on Saturday night to watch the fireworks show which has become one of the city's main tourist attractions over the past decade.

The tree constructed by Brazil's largest insurance company features images of Christmas wreaths flickering from its nearly three million lights, 1.600 special effect spheres and 52 kilometres of cable.

With the mountain-top Christ the Redeemer statue looking down on it, the tree stands as a brightly flashing symbol of peace in one of the world's most violent cities.

The Christmas tree, first erected in 1996, is Rio de Janeiro's third biggest tourist event after the pre-Lenten Carnival and New Year's Eve on Copacabana and other beaches.

More than a million people are expected to view the structure before the lights are turned off on January 6.

The Guinness Book of Records lists it as the world's largest floating Christmas tree.

In comparison, the Christmas tree in New York's Rockefeller Centre is 22 meters tall and has 30,000 lights, although it is a real Norwegian spruce.

For the opening ceremony some of Brazil’s most outstanding musicians pop and classic participated in the event.

The huge tree has its won repertoire of Christmas songs and carols which will be playing every night until January 6th.