Rio de Janeiro has opened its first nudist beach following a campaign from activists.

Abrico beach, an hour’s drive from the city centre, will now welcome those who prefer to bare all when sunbathing, marking a historic shift in Brazil’s surprisingly prudish attitude to public nudity.

Paula Nogueira, who helped organise a topless protest in December with fellow nudist Anna Rios, described the move as a “courageous decision by the mayor.”

Speaking to Agence France Presse she said: “It will help Rio become a cultural and tourist reference point, especially with the city about to celebrate its 450th anniversary and the 2016 Olympic Games.”

Despite Brazil’s association with skimpy bikinis and carnival costumes, nudity is largely frowned upon and not tolerated on the nation’s beaches.

Nogueira and Rios took up the cause last year after police threatened to arrest Brazilian actress Cristina Flores, who was taking part in a photo-shoot, if she didn’t put her top on.

They described Brazilian legislation, which considers topless sunbathing an “obscene act”, as outdated. The law, passed in the 1940s, permits harsh penalties ranging from a fine to three to 12 months in jail, although it is rare for the law to be enforced in this way.

“I have always found strange, this puritan attitude in Brazil,” Rios told AFP during last year’s protest. “You see naked women everywhere during carnival and on magazine covers – yet going topless on the beach is a crime.”