Rio de Janeiro , known for world-class samba, caipirinhas, and breathtaking beaches, recently added another accolade: The city was just chosen by UNESCO as the world’s first capital of architecture. As part of its new title, in 2020 Rio will host the 27th World Congress of Architects, an event that draws more than 25,000 attendees from across the globe. Rio beat out both Melbourne and Paris as possible host cities. The Congress, which meets every three years, will bestow the UNESCO honor on Rio during its next meeting.

The event, which takes place July 19–26, 2020, draws architects and city planners from around the world to discuss urban planning, culture, mobility, and public works, among other topics. One of the many venues that will host the event is the 15-story Palácio Gustavo Capanema, one of the biggest landmarks of modern architecture in Rio, which was built by famed Brazilian architects Lúcio Costa, a young Oscar Niemeyer, and the legendary French architect Le Corbusier .

The Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, which was designed by Francisco de Oliveira Passos and completed in 1909.

This will be the first time that the event will take place in Brazil, a country that has helped to shape the careers of renowned architects like Niemeyer , Costa, and landscape architect Roberto Burle Marx .

Rio de Janeiro's Museum of Modern Art, designed by Brazilian architect Affonso Eduardo Reidy.

"The city is also [a] reference of contemporary challenges for architects and of positive experiences in the urbanism field, with the urbanization of slum areas, for instance,” Nivaldo Andrade, the chairman of the Institute of Brazilian Architects, said in a statement. “We could say that Rio synthesizes characteristics found in cities not only in Brazil but in several countries of the world.”