Gramado

Gramado is a city in the Serra Gaúcha, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, some 120 kilometres from Porto Alegre, with 40,134 inhabitants according to the 2022 census. Founded by Portuguese settlers in 1875 and later peopled by German and Italian immigrants, it adopted an architecture of European air that has made it the state's leading tourist destination. Its calendar of events —the Festival de Cinema de Gramado, a reference of Ibero-American cinema, and the Natal Luz, which in 2023 drew millions of visitors— sustains an economy devoted to tourism and culture in the Região das Hortênsias.

On that vocation as a city of events, Gramado has developed a notable tradition of road running that makes the most of its mountain climate and its landscape: the Circuito Municipal de Corrida de Rua, the tourist stage LIVE! RUN XP and trail races through the sierra. Its historic club, Centro Esportivo Gramadense, founded in 1929, made the leap to professional football in 2022 and won its first title by taking the Série B of the Campeonato Gaúcho.

On 27 January 2023, ACES Europe presented Gramado with the flag of South American City of Sport 2023, at a ceremony in the city itself in which the organisation's director, Nuno Santos, handed the title to the mayor. This distinction —of the network's South American delegation, distinct from the 'American' title— recognised the municipal sports policy and placed Gramado in the wake of other awarded Brazilian cities, such as Indaial and Santo André.