MUMBAI: BBC Brasil has produced two high-profile video series for the BBC’s international news services ahead of Rio 2016. The series, ‘Hidden Rio’ and ‘Heroes’ will be broadcast on BBC World News television channel as well as the BBC World Service in English and other languages. They will bring global audiences insights into the lesser known sides of the home of the 2016 Olympics, as well as the stories of lives changed by sports. The two series will complement BBC Brasil journalists’ multilingual reporting and live content throughout the Games.

The impact of BBC Brasil has increased significantly over the last year. While its website bbcbrasil.com reached 20.1 million unique users in June 2016, its contribution to the BBC with original journalism has also grown.

BBC Brasil Editor, Silvia Salek, comments: “Our strength comes from our established presence in Brazil. Our aim has been to produce content that is not just interesting to Brazilians but also to a global audience. We offer a compelling and insightful narrative of what it means for Brazil to host the Games, focusing on the dilemmas, controversies as well as the opportunities and, possibly, glories, it entails.”

‘Hidden Rio’ examines some of the extraordinary but less well known sides of Rio. These include a former slave refuge in the city’s richest area where descendants still live, and a snowy area in the mountains - around Penedo - that was founded by Finnish immigrants and where Father Christmas a permanent tropical home. The five-part video series also brings unique tales of the native people of Rio de Janeiro, the cariocas.

In ‘Heroes’, BBC Brasil tells the stories of five extraordinary people who overcame great obstacles through sport and now use it to change lives in Brazil. It includes the story of golfing champion Vicky White and her caddie Jair Medeiros, who opened Brazil’s first public golf field in the poor town of Japeri; and the Brazilian sailing champion Lars Grael who, after losing a leg, has enabled thousands of children to learn skills in sailing and nautical engineering.

‘Heroes’ will be available in July on the dedicated ‘Reaching for Rio page’ on BBC.com/sport as well as bbcbrasil.com and the BBC Brasil channels on YouTube and Facebook. A long version including the five episodes will air on Saturday, 6 August 2016 on BBC World News and BBC World Service. The full version of ‘Hidden Rio’ will air on Saturday 16 July 2016 on BBC World News television and BBC World Service (in English and other languages).

BBC Brasil journalists in Rio will report for the BBC’s international news services and find exclusive stories on how the city is coping and receiving its visitors. As BBC Brasil continues to focus on social media as both a distribution platform and a source of content, a new live daily programme on Facebook during the Games will showcase both those strengths.

Silvia Salek adds: “It will be a testing time for Rio, with the city under the global spotlight. We at BBC Brasil will make the most of our unique global position to analyse the impact of the games on the country’s image and lives of its residents – and we will be engaging with our audiences via a daily programme that is really innovative in format and style.”

BBC Brasil delivers multimedia content on its website bbcbrasil.com and via its content syndication on portals such as UOL, MSN Brasil, IG, Terra, G1, and Folha. BBC Brasil offers news apps for Android, iPhone and iPod touch users as well as for Nokia’s Series 40 devices. BBC Brasil is part of BBC World Service.