The stadium was opened in 1950 to host the FIFA World Cup, in which Brazil was beaten 2–1 by Uruguay in the deciding game, in front of a still standing record attendance of 173,850 spectators, on 16 July 1950.

It served as the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, with the main track and field events taking place at the Estádio Olímpico.

The stadium was named in 1966 in honor of the recently deceased Mário Filho, a Pernambucan sports journalist, the brother of Nelson Rodrigues, who was a strong vocal supporter of the construction of the Maracanã.

[6] The stadium's popular name is derived from the Maracanã River, whose point of origin is in the jungle-covered hills to the west, crossing various bairros (neighborhoods) of Rio's Zona Norte (North Zone), such as Tijuca and São Cristóvão, via a drainage canal which features sloping sides constructed of concrete.

In March 2021, the Rio de Janeiro state legislature voted to change the venue's name to the Edson Arantes do Nascimento - Rei Pele stadium.

The construction of Maracanã was criticized by Carlos Lacerda, then Congressman and political enemy of the mayor of the city, general Ângelo Mendes de Morais, for the expense and for the chosen location of the stadium, arguing that it should be built in the West Zone neighborhood of Jacarepaguá.

The competition for the design and construction was opened by the municipality of Rio de Janeiro in 1947, with the construction contract awarded to engineer Humberto Menescal, and the architectural contract awarded to seven Brazilian architects, Michael Feldman, Waldir Ramos, Raphael Galvão, Oscar Valdetaro, Orlando Azevedo, Pedro Paulo Bernardes Bastos, and Antônio Dias Carneiro.

However, work quickly fell behind schedule, prompting FIFA to send Ottorino Barassi, the head of the Italian FA, who had organized the 1934 World Cup, to help in Rio de Janeiro.

In that first match for which Maracanã had been built, Brazil beat Mexico with a final score 4–0, with Ademir becoming the first scorer of a competitive goal at the stadium with his 30th-minute strike.

This defeat on home soil instantly became a significant event in Brazilian history, being known popularly as the Maracanazo (roughly translated as "The Maracanã Smash").

[11][12] In any case, it was the largest crowd ever to see a football game—a record that is highly unlikely to be threatened in an era when most international matches are played in all-seater stadiums.

On 21 March 1954, a new official attendance record was set in the game between Brazil and Paraguay, after 183,513 spectators entered the stadium with a ticket and 194,603 (177,656 p.) in Fla-Flu (1963).

An upper stand in the stadium collapsed on 19 July 1992, in the second game of the finals of 1992 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, between Botafogo and Flamengo, leading to the death of three spectators and injuring 50 others.

The government of Rio de Janeiro appealed the decision[16] and the game went ahead as originally planned, the final score being a 2–2 draw.

[15] On 12 June 2014, the 2014 FIFA World Cup opened with host nation Brazil defeating Croatia 3–1, but that match was held at Arena Corinthians in São Paulo.

[17] The stadium lay dormant in the months after the 2016 Olympics and Paralympics, with photos surfacing in early 2017 of a dried-up playing field covered in brown spots and missing turf, ripped-out seats, and damage to windows and doors.

At the heart of the issue was a legal wrangling between the stadium's owner, operator, and the organizing committee for the Rio Olympics over responsibility for maintaining the grounds.

The Folha de São Paulo newspaper informed that the group estimates that it will need to spend about R$15 million on emergency repairs to the stadium.

The famous vale tudo match between Japanese judoka Masahiko Kimura and Brazilian jiu-jitsu player Hélio Gracie was held at the Maracanã on 23 October 1951.