How a Blogger Snapped the Most Insane Selfie Atop Brazil's Christ the Redeemer Statue

There now might be a picture that beats both the Oscars and Obama/Biden selfies.

Lee Thompson, travel blogger and daredevil photographer, managed to climb inside Rio de Janeiro’s Christ the Redeemer statue and snap a picture of himself at the top.

Thompson and his colleague Oliver Harvey was in Rio to cover the World Cup and received special permission from Brazil’s tourism board to climb inside the iconic landmark.

It took Thompson 25 minutes to hike the 12 flights of stairs to get to the top of the 130-foot statue where he snapped a picture of himself using a GoPro camera.

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The vertigo-inducing picture and video quickly went viral after Thompson posted it on his blog.

“As I popped my head out of the hole in Jesus’ crown, I was in total and utter awe as my eyes met with a vast panorama that quite literally took my breath away,” Thompson wrote. “I’ve never been afraid of heights or tight spaces, but experiencing acrophobia, claustrophobia and profound awe at the same time was something truly remarkable.”

Credit: YouTube/Lee Thompson

The video shows Thompson climbing up inside the statue in a harness, out onto the very top and looking down on Rio de Janeiro and cheering crowds below.

Thompson was granted a view that only a few people in the world have ever seen before and is the first to snap a selfie from the top of the statue.

You can make out some tiny tourists and the lush Brazilian jungle in Thompson’s picture, but it fails to include much of what has become a defining feature in this year’s World Cup.

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Strikes, crime, and increasingly violent demonstrations have been ongoing in nearly all of the 12 host cities throughout Brazil as it gears up to host the international tournament this month.

Many in Brazil are enraged at the government for what they see as corrupt and wasteful spending on lavish soccer stadiums while ignoring the country’s poverty and housing problems.

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The World Cup is set to begin June 12 and last for a month. It is the first time that Brazil has hosted the tournament since 1950 and will consist of 64 matches between 32 national teams.

All photos via The Flash Pack

Follow Olivia Becker on Twitter: @obecker928