RIO DE JANEIRO – Well, that was that. Brazilians had been hungry to host another World Cup final in Rio’s historic Maracanã stadium since 1950, and although in the end things didn’t go to plan on the pitch, many have praised the country’s enthusiasm, hospitality and what turned out to be a dramatic and unforgettable World Cup.
Travel
Anadolu Agency – by Steffen Stubager & Asger Mow, additional reporting and editing by Ben Tavener
RIO DE JANEIRO – Hundreds of football fans in Brazil for the World Cup are refusing to pay sky-high accommodation prices and instead are opting to sleep rough during the key sporting event.
In Rio de Janeiro, football fans from all over the world can be seen sleeping in the main bus station and on the city’s famous beaches, where temperatures have tumbled to 15°C at night and rain has been a regular feature.
Fans, including many from Argentina, Colombia and Chile, have come to Brazil for weeks in some cases without booking any accommodation and, for most, the risk is directly linked to hotels inflating prices during the World Cup.
BBC World Service
Report broadcast on 6 June 2014 on the BBC World Service’s Health Check radio programme.
The BBC World News TV version of this piece can be found here.
Anadolu Agency
GUARULHOS, SÃO PAULO – Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff officially opened a long-awaited new international terminal at São Paulo’s main Guarulhos international airport on Tuesday, three weeks before the country hosts the World Cup.
Rousseff said the new glass and steel terminal represented a transformation in the Brazilian population, more and more of whom are now able to afford flying as a travel option after 46 million Brazilians moved up on the social ladder into the economic middle classes.
“The changes that we have made here are part of the work done to address the real transformation seen from when we saw 36 million people travelling by plane at the beginning of the decade, to 111 million today,” she said.
Anadolu Agency
SÃO PAULO – Colour, music and hundreds of thousands of people in exotic (and often very revealing!) fancy dress flooded the streets of central São Paulo this Sunday as the city’s 18th annual Gay Pride Parade – officially the world’s biggest – rode into town.
Police estimates put the number at around 100,000, but correspondents say the figure was likely to be over a million. Organisers have yet to release an estimate but were hoping for at least 3 million revellers.
Iguaçu Falls, 2 May 2014. Photo: RPCTV
FOZ DO IGUAÇU, Brazil – This was the scene on Friday when water coursing over the world-famous Iguaçu (Iguazu) Falls in southwest Brazil/northeast Argentina topped 4 million litres per second after heavy rains in the surrounding area.
NATAL – Take it all in. It’s one of the most beautiful cities in Brazil’s northeast region.
I’m just here for a couple of days on a filming trip for the BBC, which has taken me to the far less glamorous North Zone of the city. Then I’ll head back to São Paulo and normal service shall resume.
Just thought I’d share these photos I took along the way:
Rio Sambadrome in full swing! Photo by Ben Tavener.
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro is, in a word, overwhelming – for every one of the senses. Everything gets a good pounding: your ears, eyes, nostrils, and quite definitely your brain.
For some reason it’s taken me three years to get to Rio Carnival – but it was definitely worth it.
There are those who mistakenly think Carnival is all about the samba schools parading at the Sambódromo, which celebrated 30 years of colour and dance this year, but the real heart of Carnival is most certainly in the blocos – the many, many street parties (450+ this year) that adorn Rio’s street and bring large swathes of the city to a grinding halt in a mass of sweaty, alcohol-fuelled dancing and debauchery.
Here is a small taster – click to enlarge photos. For the full gallery, see my Flickr set.
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio Sambadrome in full swing
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- Rio’s street parties – the “blocos” – are the true heart of Carnival
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- Rio’s street parties – the “blocos” – are the true heart of Carnival
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- One of the many Carmens at Carnival. This one at a bloco in Ipanema
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- Preparations for Sambadrome time!
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- Cordão do Bola Preta bloco. Yes, yes. The World Cup is coming…
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- Simpatia É Quase Amor bloco drew an estimated 150,000 people
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- AfroReggae bloco. Photo by Ben Tavener
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- Another day, another bloco
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- A street cleaner strike meant much of Rio was knee-deep in litter. But it’s all part and parcel.
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- Rubbish piled up in Cinelândia, central Rio de Janeiro.
Ben Tavener 