Highlights of World Cup Brazil 2014

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When Your Life Becomes Football

After leaving São Paulo on the night bus which is an easy 5 - 6 hour journey and well worth doing at night to save time and money I arrived in Rio De Janeiro.

I thought It was amazing how busy the bus station was as I arrived, crammed with football fans and although I had seen the Copacabana fan fest on TV I wasn't ready for what lay ahead.

The biggest football beach party ever!

I arrived in Rio at the end of the group stages which meant of course England had already gone home and only some nationalities remained but OMG the beach front of Copacabana was packed with sadly mainly men wearing football shirts from all over the world!

When the Fan Fest was first invented in 2006 in Germany it seemed like the best Idea the football world had ever had (Iam sure the Germans will claim it though) but when you imagine a beach environment street party with football on big screens this is surely what everybody would have in mind when they think of a fan fest in Brazil.

The Fan Fest itself has become a small Fifa Theme Park with MEXICO! GO FIGURE !! As one of the sponsors, which is a little sad as you are brain washed by advertising but it dos´nt take away from the amazing location right on Copacabana beach and as the screens are so big you can literally stand on the waters edge drinking a cocktail, surrounded by girls in Bikinis (admittedly out numbered 20 to 1 by men) while baking in the sun. Football Fan Heaven.

My days have been spent waking up walking along the beach celebrity spotting and then getting in position for 2 games of football a day with the first Kick Off being 1pm.

People could have been worried about safety in Copacabana during the World Cup, as it´s not the safest place normally but that has been taken care of by heavily armed police in cars, on bikes, or on foot ready to quash any disturbance which dosn´t mean there hasn't been any with peaceful demonstrations against FIFA every time Brazil played and a mass stampede when Brazil conceded the 4th goal of there 7-1 thrashing by the Germany. 

As the sunsets on another World Cup and the disappointment of the Brazil defeat and as far as the Brazilians are concerned the disappointment of an Argentina win many more Argentinians have arrived and more are expected for the Worlds Cup Final and the end of the biggest football party ever.

All above pics are from our Instagram account @simlewis 

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Did you think Rio would be to expensive?

Thought Rio was going to expensive during The World Cup?  

#maninbrazil has secured a great apartment in the fantastic location or Lagoa 

Prices start for £35 per person per day!

Contact Us for more info  

#maninbrazil is a project by www.travelconceptsolution.com 

Huge Rio Apartment

 

We have a huge apartment in Rio which we are using as a hostel between the months of June and July while the FIFA World Cup 2014 takes place.

Rooms descriptions:

One (1) bedroom with one (1) queen size bed

One (1) large area with three (3) bunk beds totalling six (6) beds

One (1) kitchen

One (1) laundry room

One (1) full bath

 

 

Amenities:

Internet connection via WiFi

Fully equiped kitchen

Daily cleaning

Lockers for your safety

Bedclothes provided

Apartment with a maximum mixed capacity of eight (8) persons. 

 Location Our apartment is located in Zona Sul, one of the best and safest place in Rio.Just ten (10) minutes away from world reknown turist spot Pao da Azucar as well as being just a twenty (20) minutes walk from Copacabana Beach.

Right across the road from our hostel there is a bus stop and from there you can reach downtown Rio, Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon in just a few minutes.If you would rather like to ride the Metro, you can reach a station by walking in just ten (10) minutes. From there you can easily reach the Maracana Stadium and the Cristo Redentor.On the first floor of the building there are three (3) minimarkets, one (1) restaurant, one (1) bar and one (1) pharmacy.Two (2) shopping malls are located in the nearby áreas as well.

 

#maninbrazil is a project by www.travelconceptsolution.com 

 

Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

 

#maninbrazil is a project by www.travelconceptsolution.com  

Contact Us For With All Your World Cup Inquires 

Sao Paulo, Brazil

 

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Contact Us For With All Your World Cup Inquires 

World Cup Rio Apartment

 

 

located in Jardim Botanico (Botanic Garden) very quiet street and neighborhood, no favelas around. Can fit up to 4 people comfortably, 2 bathrooms, 1 room is en-suite with TV. Living room with cable TV , WI-FI included.

Price is £215 per day for 2 ppl or £270 per day for 4 ppl, negotiable.

Contact Us for more info.

 

#maninbrazil is a project by www.travelconceptsolution.com 

World Cup Brazil Versus South Africa

In June 2006 I boarded the last flight from London to Frankfurt the day before England’s first World Cup match.

As you can imagine 99% of the passengers were English football fans heading to Germany to support England.

I happened to hear a conversation between two fans who said they had both been to the previous two World Cups, but there was no way they would be going to the next one as it was in South Africa in 2010 because the country was far too dangerous, but they would of course be going to Brazil in 2014.

Having spent many years living in South Africa, this of course saddened me to think that South Africa had such a bad reputation that obvious fanatic England fans would miss a World Cup just because it was going to be in South Africa.

Over the next few years on my travels I heard similar comments made about South Africa, and the fact people wouldn’t travel there for the World Cup for various reasons, but mainly safety concerns.

The best comment I heard was that South Africa was so dangerous that all the teams would be based on cruise ships off the coast and transported to the stadiums in helicopters!

South Africa clearly had work to do to improve its global image.

Four years later in January 2010 South Africa was a country full of optimism and excitement because of the fact that in a few months they would be welcoming the world to their country to experience the first World Cup in Africa. It wasn’t seen as just a football tournament, but also an opportunity to show the world what a great country South Africa is.

All the stadiums were ready on time, the airports were improved and all the world class hotels and attractions were ready for what was South Africa’s big chance to show the world.

More importantly, the people of the country were united and ready, as this was an opportunity to welcome the world with friendly open arms and perhaps shake off the negativity of the past.

In contrast, when it was announced that Brazil would host the World Cup in 2014, football fans around the world celebrated saying “that this could be the best World Cup ever”, regardless if they have ever been to Brazil or even met a Brazilian.

When people think of Brazil they simply can’t think of a negative thing about the country, although it has its own controversial history. You only have to mention Brazil and it conjures up images of beaches, cocktails, samba music, carnival and of course its beautiful people. Quite simply you mention Brazil and 9 out of 10 people will smile and say “I want to go”.

Nobody ever thinks of danger and crime. When you say you are traveling to Rio nobody would ever think of asking is it safe, as they do for Cape Town for example.

Brazil simply doesn’t have that image internationally, and it doesn’t need to show the world what a great country it is.

In the years running up to The World Cup in South Africa, there was always negative story’s and rumours about FIFA wanting to move the event to the USA, Germany or even Australia. But South Africa rose above this and had all their stadiums completed before the FIFA deadline, which lead to an official announcement from Sepp Blatter himself that the World Cup would not be moved.

Having spent three months in Brazil in 1999, I decided to travel back to the country and spend two months visiting some of the host cities. It is  January 2014 and is Brazil and its people ready to welcome the world?

The answer is NO! Both the country and its people don’t seem to care!

This is not to say that Brazilians are not nice friendly people like South Africans, but rather they have bigger problems to care about than just a football tournament, as that’s all it is to them because they don’t need to improve there image internationally.

Only half the stadiums are completed two months past the FIFA deadline, while several people have died in the construction of the stadiums, and one city might even lose its host city status as its stadium is so far behind schedule.

Add to this that the main international airport Sao Paulo’s (regularly voted the worst International airport in the world) new terminal is also unlikely to be finished in time.

These facts alone would have had the world crying out in 2010 for the World Cup to be taken away from South Africa.

When you talk to local Brazilians or even mention the World Cup to them they always have the same negative response which is “we don’t care” as they have massive problems with corruption, education, health care and infrastructure.

Corruption is at such a level that they see no way that the country or the man in the street can benefit from the World Cup, as any money made will go straight into somebody’s pocket.

Twelve months before the World Cup, millions of normal people took to the
streets as they saw through a price rise in local bus fares as the way the government was going to help pay for the event and actually got the decision reversed.

This has left an air of optimism about their protests and more are planned running up to, and perhaps during, the World Cup, as the people don’t want 12 shiny new stadiums, they want a better country and future.

Being a football loving country, this probably will not affect football fans visiting the country, and I am sure the stadiums in the main cities will be full, but this lack of enthusiasm for the event and lack of preparation by the country in improving its facilities and infrastructure (as they feel they don’t need to) might leave the average football fan shocked at what they find when the arrive in a country that is held in such high regard.

Thanks to @Johngoliath82 for editing this for me :)

#maninbrazil is a www.travelconceptsolution.com project.

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