and in 1996, the ufo-shaped museum of arte contemporanea - mac, by the famous architect oscar niemeyer was inaugurated, becoming the symbol of niterói and famous around the world.

annual events in niterói, while by no means a new phenomenon, have reached a level of organization and promotion in recent years that was unthinkable even a decade ago.

contributing factors include the growth of tourism and population in the  guanabara bay area, but perhaps a more important trend is the formation of organizations like neltur (niterói leisure and tourism company), which puts together new projects and helps to advertise existing ones.

as the months of december, january and february tend to be dominated by the traditional (southern hemisphere) summer events such as christmas, new year and carnaval.