Brazil in countdown for Cup start
Rio de Janeiro: About 3,00,000 visitors from around the world are expected to attend World Cup matches across Brazil, from the steamy Amazon region in the north to the chillier pampas climes in the south to Rio de Janeiro, where the Christ the Redeemer statue spreads his arms high above the Maracana Stadium where the tournament’s final game will be.
The month long event starts June 12, when Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, hosts the opening game. Last-minute preparations are still being completed for the onslaught of fans, with finishing touches on stadiums where the games will be played and at airports where visitors will arrive. Vendors are arranging World Cup merchandise from key chains to T-shirts. Some merchandise features a cartoon rendering of the tournament’s official mascot, Brazil’s three-banded armadillo, which can roll up into a soccer-like ball when startled.
Security is being beefed up, with 157,000 soldiers and police assigned to keep order during the tournament. More protests are expected against the billions shelled out by the government to host the event, but authorities say they don’t anticipate demonstrations will be as intense as those seen last year. The World Cup seems to be on everyone’s mind as residents of cities around Brazil paint walls with soccer-inspired graffiti — some of it welcoming the tournament, some of it complaining about the cost. One mural at a Sao Paulo school by renowned street artist Paulo Ito has gone viral on social media, showing a weeping, starving Brazilian boy, knife and fork in hand, being served a soccer ball on a plate.