World Cup Brazil 2014: Natal

Natal (lit. “Christmas”) is the capital and largest city of Rio Grande do Norte, a northeastern state in Brazil. As of the IBGE July 2009, the city had a total population of 806,203 (1,263,547 in its Greater Natal).

Natal will be one of the smallest cities chosen by FIFA to host games of the World Cup 2014 (only Cuiabá is smaller); the city celebrated heartly the nomination, as there was a fierce dispute with other cities.

Matches in Natal will take place in a new arena. Current stadium Machadão will be put to ground, a Arena das Dunas will be built from scratch.

Natal is known as City of the Dunes. A combination of beaches, dunes, lagoons, and a still calm city have turned Natal into one of the main tourist destinations in Brazil. Tourists who want to combine a trip to the Cup with beach scenery can choose between Natal, Recife, Fortaleza and Salvador.

The implementation of the Via Costeira (Coastal Highway), 10 km (5.5 mi) long avenue along the shore and the dunes, was the true starting point for the beginning of tourist activity in the State in the 1980s. That is where the main hotels, shopping centers and restaurants of the capital city, Natal, are concentrated.

Natal has several tourist attractions and is famous for its natural beauty (such as the crystalline waters of Maracajaú and the largest cashew tree in the world), for its historical monuments and buildings (such as the Forte dos Reis Magos and the Alberto Maranhão Theater), for its beaches (such as Ponta Negra, Pipa and Genipabu) and also for its off-season carnival, the Carnatal.

It is the capital of Brazil closest to Europe and Africa, and the Augusto Severo International Airport currently connects Natal with many Brazilian cities and also operates some international flights. Until 2014, a new airport shall be ready in São Gonçalo do Amarante, metropolitan area of Natal.

World Cup Brazil 2014: Cuiaba

When they were chosing the cities which would host games of the World Cup 2014, FIFA and CBF wanted to have a wide spectrum of cities, representing as much as possible the big variety of regions, biomas and cultures in Brazil.

So, Cuiabá was chosen because the city is located right in the middle of Pantanal. Pantanal, the wetlands of Brazil, occupies much of the central part of the country, near the border with Bolívia. Pantanal is as rich a bioma as the Amazon (FIFA chose Manaus as the Amazon city in the World Cup).

Cuiabá is, among the host cities, the one with less tradition in Brazilian football: none of the teams of the city ever managed to reach the Top Division of Brazilian League; the current stadium of the city is not capable of staging a World Cup match.

To stage the matches, a new stadium will be built from scratch. The stadium will be called Verdão (The Big Green), will seat 42,500 people, and is planned to be the most environment friendly stadium in Brazil.

Cuiabá is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. It is located in the exact centre of South America and is in conurbation with the neighbouring town of Várzea Grande.

The exact meaning of the name is uncertain, but it is known to be of Indian origin. A theory says that Cuiaba means “arrow-fishing” and alludes to the Bororo custom of using arrows to fish. Another version says that there was an Indian group called Ykuiapá. Others say that a Portuguese man was taking a bath in the river using a kind of plate made with half coconut (named cuia), and the stream took it, and the man said: Cuia ba (something like “the cuia is gone”).

Cuiabá is the largest pole of tourism, economy, agro industry, trade and culture of the State. The North of the State (which borders the Amazon) was widely occupied by cattle raisers and soybeans farms, which caused serious environmental damages. The Pantanal area, however, gets flooded every year, and so is unproper for plantations or intensive cattle raising; the main activity remains extensive cattle raising.

The new Marechal Rondon International Airport connects Cuiabá with many Brazilian cities (many flights stop in Brasília and Sao Paulo) and also operates some international flights.

World Cup Brazil 2014: Belo Horizonte

Belo Horizonte (which translates as “Beautiful Horizon” in Portuguese) is the capital city of the state of Minas Gerais, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. Brazilians commonly refer to the city as “Beagá”, the sound of its initials “BH” in Portuguese.

Being an important economic, cultural and political center of Brazil, there was no doubt that Belo Horizonte would be appointed as one of the host cities of the World Cup 2014. The city had already staged matches of the World Cup 1950; it was in Belo Horizonte that England lost the Historic match against the United States team.

The stadium where that match took place no longer exists. Mineirão was built after 1950, and will be entirely overhauled to stage matches in 2014; being one of the largest stadiums in Brazil (as Belo Horizonte is seat of two major Brazilian clubs, Cruzeiro and Atletico Mineiro), chances are that important matches (such as the opening match or semifinal matches) be staged in Mineirão.

Belo Horizonte is the third-largest metropolitan area in the country (the two largest ones are Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro); the population is over 2.4 million, or almost 5.4 million in the official Metropolitan Area.

The region was first settled in the early 18th century, but the city as it is known today was planned and constructed in the 1890s, in order to replace Ouro Preto as the capital of Minas Gerais.

The city features a mixture of contemporary and classical buildings, and hosts several modern Brazilian architectural icons, most notably the Pampulha Complex. In planning the city, Aarão Reis and Francisco Bicalho sought inspiration in the urban planning of Washington D.C. The city has employed notable programs in urban revitalization and food security, for which is has been awarded international recognition .

The city is built on several hills and completely surrounded by mountains. There are several large parks in the immediate surroundings of Belo Horizonte. The “Parque das Mangabeiras”, located six kilometres south-east from the city centre in the hills of the Serra do Curral, affords a view over the city.  The “Mata do Jambeiro” nature reserve extends over 912 hectares (2,250 acres), with vegetation typical of the Atlantic forest.

Recently, the New York Times appointed the city as the Bar Capital of Brazil; Belo Horizonte gained fame across Brazil for its busy nightlife, with many bars and discoes.