BRAZIL: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Giant inflatable soccer balls marked with red crosses line Copacabana Beach in World Cup protest

Record ID: 565491

  • Title: BRAZIL: FOOTBALL / SOCCER - Giant inflatable soccer balls marked with red crosses line Copacabana Beach in World Cup protest
  • Date: 10th June 2014
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (JUNE 10, 2014) (REUTERS) GIANT INFLATABLE SOCCER BALLS MARKED WITH RED CROSSES ON COPACABANA BEACH IN FRONT OF THE FAMOUS COPACABANA PALACE HOTEL PERSON TAKING PICTURES OF THE SOCCER BALLS ON THE BEACH PROTEST SIGN IN THE BEACH THAT READS, 'WORLD CUP IN A COUNTRY OF MISERY, FINANCED BY PUBLIC MONEY, IS A MORAL PROBLEM.' WRITTEN IN ENGLISH CLOSE-UP O
  • Embargoed: 25th June 2014 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA6F2IFABXMNPQWOEFP8S51U7AU
  • Story Text: Tourists arriving in Rio de Janeiro ahead of the 2014 World Cup were greeted by massive inflatable soccer balls marked with red crosses on the city's famed Copacabana Beach Tuesday (June 10) as a local NGO protested the sporting event.
    The Rio de Paz NGO has staged several demonstrations leading up to the soccer tournament in an effort to draw attention to the money spent on hosting the event and to call for more funding for schools, hospitals and public infrastructure.
    Alongside the giant soccer balls was a shack similar to those that millions of Brazilians call home in the country's expansive slum neighbourhoods or 'favelas' as they are locally known.
    The president of Rio de Paz, Antonio Carlos Costa, said the sea-side display symbolized the billions of dollars Brazil spent on the Cup and the disparity between the haves and have-nots in the South American country.
    "The balls obviously represent soccer. The red crosses, the wasted public funds that went way over budget. At first it was promised that the World Cup would be funded by private money and that did not happen. And public money was invested in nonessential things. The people don't need new stadiums. And this shack symbolizes social inequality. That a country that is throwing a fortune of public money on the World Cup also has this kind of misery. The seventh largest economy in the world which is number 80 in human development," Costa said.
    The demonstration comes just two days before the FIFA World Cup is set to begin with Brazil taking on Croatia in Sao Paulo on June 12.
    Brazilians passing by the display said they supported the demonstration.
    "It is really well done and doesn't disrupt anyone and it sends a clear message to the tourists right here in front of the Copacabana Palace (Hotel). Yesterday 40 union workers shut down the whole city doing nothing, shouting 'Argentina' and a bunch of crap, and it solves nothing. This is a clear message. A very smart protest," area resident Rodrigo Souza said.
    "I'm not at all against it. Soccer is great, but to play, not to support a disgusting system where eight large companies run the world," local teacher, Fatima Pinel said.
    Rio will host seven matches including the World Cup Quarter-Final on July 4 and the Final on July 13 at the iconic Maracana stadium.
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