Discovery Channel - Megabuilders

Raise the Roof (3x1)

Air date: Feb 19, 2008

The race is on as Brazil scrambles to build an iconic new stadium in time for the opening ceremonies of the Pan American Games. The futuristic Joao Havelange Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro is over budget and more than a year behind schedule when team leaders Claudio Casares and Sancho Montandon take over the project. Their biggest challenge is the stadium’s most striking design feature – a unique 3,300-tonne floating roof. The team must build a complex arch system to support the roof from above and then remove the temporary supports to leave the roof seemingly suspended in mid-air. The stakes are huge for everyone involved in raising the roof to let the Games begin.