World Cup Brazil 2014

With the fast growth of tourism in Brazil, the number of people looking for accommodation with high levels of comfort, personalized services, unique decoration, discrete location (the so called Charming Hotels) is also growing.

Roteiros de Charme (Tours of Charm) is the private association which congregates the Charming Hotels in Brazil. The past year alone, more than one hundred hotels applied to join the group; however, only two of them were approved.

Hotel Villa Bahia (photo) is located in Pelourinho, heart of the Historic Center of Salvador (itself a charming World Heritage Site), in the State of Bahia; two old mansions of the 17th and 19th Century were refurbished to give place to the hotel. There are only 17 suites (with acoustic insulation), swimming pool and a terrace with a view to the Pelourinho.

The other new member of the Charming Hotels is Pousada do Engenho (Pousada = Inn; Engenho = old farm), in the city of São Francisco de Paula, about 120 km distant from Porto Alegre, in the State of Rio Grande do Sul.

The Charming Hotels are spread across 13 States of Brazil; there is at least one hotel in 10 of the 12 cities which will host matches of the World Cup 2014. Salvador and Porto Alegre, mentioned above, are two of the host cities; Brasilia and Cuiaba are the two host cities with no hotels.

Below, a sample of other Charming Hotels in Brazil.

Hotel Rosa dos Ventos, Teresopolis, Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro. None of the hotels is in the capital city. Hotel Rosa dos Ventos (photo above), in the Imperial city of Teresópolis, is the oldest member of the club (Teresópolis is where the Brazilian Confederation maintains a training center). See more hotels in Rio de Janeiro.

Sao Paulo. Likewise, no hotel in the capital city. Chateau La Villette, up the mountains of Campos do Jordão (120 km from the capital) has been Charmful since 2000. See more hotels in Sao Paulo.

Belo Horizonte. No hotel in the city. Solar da Ponte, in the Historic city of Tiradentes, is a good option. Check out hotels in Belo Horizonte.

Curitiba. Only one hotel: La Dolce Vitta, less than half an hour drive from Arena da Baixada, the stadium which will stage matches in the city. See other hotels in Curitiba.

Recife. There are three hotels near Recife, and all deserve mention. Pousada do Amparo is located in Olinda, which exhalates History, culture, music and party in every corner. Pousada Zé Maria and Pousada Teju-Açu are the best accommodation options in Fernando de Noronha, a paradisiac island off the Brazilian coast, still unknown to foreign tourists, but a favorite among Brazilians. See other hotels in Recife and other hotels in Noronha.

Natal. Two hotels. Manary is in the capital, Natal, and Toca da Coruja is in Pipa beach. See other hotels in Natal and hotels in Pipa.

Fortaleza. The only charming hotel in the state of Ceara is Orixás Hotel, about 120 km from the capital Fortaleza. See other hotels in Fortaleza.

Manaus. Anavilhanas Lodge, right in the middle of the jungle, about 180 km down the river from the capital Manaus. See other hotels in Manaus.

Natal is a city with nearly 1 million people, and is one of the hosts of 2014. With easy access from Europe and North America, and beautiful tropical beaches, it will probably be one of the most visited cities during the Cup.

The Brazilian Government has been announcing that there will be heavy investments in infrastructure to prepare the country for the World Cup, including US$ 12 bn in Information Technology investments.

However, it is very likely that users accustomed to high speed access in their home countries will feel the impact of the lower levels of services in Brazil. The Finnish (to whom a 1 MB connection is a basic right, rather than a commerciable service), or the Japanese (who since 2004 have been seeing 1 GB connection for US$ 38 per month), may feel they are back to the Paleolithic Era of internet.

Take, for example, this notice published yesterday, August 1st 2010, by newspaper Tribuna de Natal about broadband access in Natal.

There are only two providers of broaband access in Natal: Cabo Telecom (a cable TV operator) and Oi Velox (ran by Oi Brazil, which happens to be the worst telecom company in Brazil).

Below, prices charged by Cabo Telecom:

So, for a plan with up to 1 Mbps of download and up to 256 Kbps upload, subject to a monthly quota of 20 GB of transfer, the price is R$ 109.90 per month (a bit more than US$ 60 per month).

The broadest band Oi offers in Natal is 1 Mbps, costing 109.90 monthly, provided that the user buys a “promotion” package including voice services.

If the client is interested in data connection only (no voice), then the following table applies:

For most cities (including Natal), only 1 Mpbs is offered, at a cost of R$ 130 for configuration and R$ 123.30 monthly afterwards.

These are the the same options that businesses like hotels, LAN houses, shopping centers, etc have in Natal; that means that their services won’t be any better than their providers’ services.

For some cities, the improvement of internet access, along with a reduction in prices, could be one important legacy of the World Cup.

The Ministry of Tourism in Brazil is still in the process of re-creating the Classification System of Means of Accommodation. Meanwhile, it is not easy for potential guests to find an unbiased evaluation of hotels in Brazil.

Veja, the most influential Brazilian magazine, published some time ago a guide of best hotels in Brazil; the guide sorts hotels by city and event (such as “the best hotel for the Sao Paulo Fashion Week in Sao Paulo“), and is still a good indicator of the finest hotels in Brazil.

In Sao Paulo: Hotel Unique (photo below),  Sofitel, Transamerica, Grande Hotel Senac. See other hotels in Sao Paulo.

In Rio de Janeiro: Le Meridien, Sheraton, Pousada Pardieiro. See other hotels in Rio de Janeiro.

In Santa Catarina: Plaza Blumenau. See other hotels in Florianopolis.

In Salvador: Bahia Othon. See other hotels in Salvador.

In Curitiba: Mabu Royal and Premium Hotel. See other hotels in Curitiba.

In Brasilia: Melia. See other hotels in Brasilia.

In Recife: Atlante Plaza. See other hotels in Recife.

In Natal: Serhs (photo below). See other hotels in Natal.

In Fortaleza: Bluetree. See other hotels in Fortaleza.

In and near Manaus: Tropical, Amazon River, Crowne Plaza. See other hotels in Manaus.

When cities were applying to FIFA and CBF to be a host of games in the World Cup 2014, all they had to present was an artistic design of the future stadiums (besides, of course, evidences that the city would be financially capable of building the stadium and implementing all the necessary urban infrastructure).

Based on such artistic designs, FIFA and CBF elected the twelve host cities of 2014.

Now, the cities have to produce not only artistic, but actual projects. As all the twelve stadiums  will have to be built or rebuilt, all the stadium owners  had to contract archictecture and design firms to work on the real project.

According to the Portal Transparency of the Cup 2014, the prices of the Projects are:

A comprehensive Project involves researching, planning and implementing all aspects of infrastructure, illumination,  acoustic, waste treatment, urban legislation, accessibility, environment and more.

This broad reach of tasks could be a explanation for such a wide variation in the estimated cost of projects; however, there may be also other reasons.

Yesterday, for example, the Government of Natal cancelled the contracts with the firms hired to design the Arena das Dunas Complex. The reason was that the Public Procurement found the cost of R$ 27 millions to be excessive, and demanded explanations.

The explanation of the Natal Local Committee was that the project was chartered to the same firm which had prepared the artistic design, and hence, “there would no need for a bidding process”. The absence of competition, of course, permitted the architecture office to skyrocket their prices. The Local Committee realized that their position was unbearable, and decided to cancel the contract.

At least in this case, some public money was saved, but Natal is now running the serious risk of being ruled out of the World Cup.

Today, June 11th 2010, we saw the opening match of the World Cup 2010 (South Africa 1 x 1 Mexico).

At the very moment that the ball started rolling (4 pm, local time), the temperature in Johannesburg was 18º C (64º F); the matches which happen at night experienced even lower temperatures. And, as the Southern Hemisphere moves into winter, the temperatures should fall even more.

Update: on June 15th, the day that Brazil played against North Korea, the temperature in Johannesburg was -4º C (-24º F).

Considering that Brazil is also in the Southern Hemisphere, what temperatures can be expected during the World Cup, which should take place between June and July of 2014?

The graphs below show the expected weather for today, June 6th 2010, in all Brazilian cities which will stage games of the Cup. The graphs show minimum temperature, maximum temperature, sunny/rainy weather and intensity of Ultra-Violet rays.

In the cities by the sea (namely: Natal, Recife, Fortaleza, Salvador and Rio de Janeiro), average temperatures are high, even during the winter. In Manaus and Cuiabá, which are located near the Equatorial Line, temperatures are also high during all year.

In the Southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba, temperatures are expected to be low during the matches. Visitors should definitively bring their coats.

Belo Horizonte and São Paulo are located near the Tropic Line, and both are at a high altitude (around 800 m, 2,500 ft); this makes the weather of these cities more unpredictable.

The World Cup 2014 will be warmer than the World Cup 2010.

On October 30th 2007 (nearly two and a half years ago), FIFA named Brazil as the host country of the World Cup 2014; and on June 1st 2009 (nine months ago), FIFA and CBF announced the twelve host cities of the Cup.

FIFA set March 1st 2010 as the deadline for all hosts to have started the works to build or refurbish the stadiums; today, March 3rd 2010, only three of the hosts have started some works (but not one brick has been laid – see report further below).

A few weeks ago, FIFA expressed preoccupation with the delays in South Africa;  “if the World Cup started tomorrow, we wouldn’t be ready”, said Secretary General Jerome Valcke. Yesterday, when celebrating the 100 days countdown to the 2010 World Cup, Valcke declared that “FIFA won’t have with Brazil the same patience they did with South Africa“.

CBF sent a message to all host cities, demanding explanations for the delays. A new deadline was set to start works: May 3rd. CBF said that cities which don’t comply with deadlines may loose their rights to host matches. The deadline for all stadia to be finished continues to be December 31st 2012, six months before the kick off of the Confederations Cup 2013.

Current situation of the stadiums:

Belo Horizonte: works scheduled to start on June 12nd; the Government is still looking for private partners to finance the works.

Brasília: works were scheduled to start in April; however, a case of corruption came out, and the ex-Governor was impeached and is under arrest. Political indefinition will probably cause delays.

Cuiabá: works scheduled to start on March 23rd.

Curitiba: Atlético Paranaense, owner of the stadium Arena da Baixada, estimates that they will need R$ 80 million to adapt the stadium to FIFA demands; now, they are looking for the money.

Fortaleza: works scheduled to April. The bidding process was started in December 2009, contractor to be known late March.

Manaus: Prosecutors required changes in the bidding process; works are scheduled to start in April.

Natal: bidding process to start in April; works to start in June.

Porto Alegre: Internacional, owner of Beira-Rio, claims that some internal refurbishments were already started; however, nothing in the structure was changed. Internacional is claiming tax exemptions to buy construction material to refurbish the stadium.

Recife: works to start in May. According to the local committee, delays were caused by late changes in the project to adapt it to environmental laws.

Rio de Janeiro: the local committee says that sub-soil studies have started on March 1st; clearly, a cosmetic measure to pretend to comply with FIFA deadlines. The bidding for the major works will be launched in April.

Salvador: the bidding process is finished, the contractor is defined, but the Goverment still need money and environment licenses to start the works.

São Paulo: probably (and suprisingly), Morumbi is the stadium with most problems. Neither Sao Paulo FC (owner of the stadium) nor the Governments want to spend money with the stadium. Some changes were made to the project which had been originally approved, but FIFA didn’t like the changes; FIFA President Joseph Blatter said that “Morumbi doesn’t meet the FIFA requirements to stage the opening match of the World Cup 2014“.

Below, a brief description of all 12 stadia of the World Cup 2014.

Stadia are ordered by capacity, for this is a major criterium used by FIFA to decide where the most important matches (such as opening, quarter finals, semi finals and final matches) will be staged.

On June 1st 2009, FIFA announced the twelve host cities of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil.

There was a big expectation about those host cities. These cities will benefit in several aspects from the World Cup, such as investments in infrastructure and massive international marketing.

Some of the cities knew that they would be a host. Rio de Janeiro is the best known city in Brazil (Maracanã is already defined as stage of the final match); Sao Paulo is the richest city in Brazil; Brasilia, the capital of the country (Sao Paulo and Brasilia are still fighting to host the opening match of the Cup); Salvador, Recife, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba and Porto Alegre are important economic and cultural regional hubs of Brazil.

So, this makes eight cities with a guaranteed spot. It was of interest of the Brazilian Government and CBF that cities representatives of all regions in Brazil were chosen, so as to show to the world the rich variety of Brazilian culture and scenarios. The other four cities were chosen according to these criterium.

So, in the Northeast of Brazil, the region where the sun shines all year long, the cities of Natal and Fortaleza were chosen. These cities are rather small, but are popular destinations for Brazilian tourists; the well developed tourist infrastructure (hotels, airports, etc) was a big advantage of these cities.

There had to be a host in the Amazon, a region of Brazil which attracts world attention. Rio Branco was a candidate, but, too far into the jungle and with poor infrastructure, had no chances; Manaus and Belém were the stronger candidates. Belém had the advantage of being nearer the rest of Brazil and the rest of the world. Manaus won, thanks to a stronger political influence and probably because it is located deeper into the Amazon (an eco-tourism network, albeit incipient, is better developed in Manaus than in Belém).

Likewise, there should be a host in Pantanal, the Brazilian wetlands, one of the richest ecosystems in the World; Cuiaba and Campo Grande were the candidates.  Campo Grande is located right in the middle of Pantanal, and was favorite to win; however, thanks to a better project, Cuiabá was chosen.

Besides Belém and Campo Grande, other Brazilian cities were candidates to host but were not chosen: Goiânia (despite having one of the most modern stadiums in Brazil, the Serra Dourada) was too close to Brasília, and CBF wanted to spread the hosts; Florianópolis is a mid sized city in the South, with a strong European heritage, and was surprisingly not chosen (Natal took the place of Florianópolis).

So, these cities were candidates to host, but didn’t make it: Campo Grande, Goiânia, Florianópolis, Rio Branco and Belém.

On May 31st 2009, FIFA announced the 12 host cities of the World cup 2014 in Brazil.

The cities are:

1) Rio de Janeiro. Stadium: Maracana. Rio Travel Guide.

2) São Paulo. Stadium: Morumbi. Biggest Brazilian city.

3) Belo Horizonte. Beautiful Horizon.

4) Salvador. Party everyday.

5) Curitiba. Stadium: Arena da Baixada.

6) Porto Alegre. Stadium: Beira-Rio. The coldest of the host cities.

7) Brasília. The capital of Brazil.
Cuiaba. World Cup in the Pantanal.

9) Recife. World Cup by the beach.

10) Fortaleza. Stadium: Castelão. World Cup by the beach.

11) Natal. Stadium: Arena das Dunas. World Cup by the beach.

12) Manaus. World Cup in the Amazon.