A Brazilian football fan plays with a soccer ball on a beach in Rio de Janeiro on June 8, 2014. The 2014 World Cup starts on Thursday, June 12. (Reuters/Eddie Keogh)
Thursday will be the opening day of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The widely-viewed event will bring together 32 national football teams to compete in 64 matches in facilities in twelve cities across Brazil.
Billions of dollars have been spent since Brazil was named host nation in 2007 on new stadiums, upgraded stadiums, improved transportation facilities, new hotel space, and broad security measures.
Many Brazilians are unhappy with the expenditures during a time of social hardship, and have been vocal in protests for years. Hundreds of thousands of fans will soon make their way to Brazil.
(AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)
Two children walk along a street decorated in the Brazilian national colors in Rocinha favela in Rio de Janeiro on June 9, 2014. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)
A policeman observes a screen displaying Maracana stadium during a media tour at the security center for the 2014 soccer World Cup in Rio de Janeiro on January 22, 2014. (Reuters/Marcelo Regua)
A demonstrator shouts slogans against FIFA during a protest against the 2014 FIFA World Cup, at a bus station in Brasilia, Brazil, on May 27, 2014. Brazilians are protesting against the huge amounts of money spent by the government on the upcoming World Cup. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)
Workers stand on scaffolding outside Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro on June 6, 2014. (Reuters/Tont Gentile)
Members of the the Civil Police's Core (Coordination of Special Assets) unit train in a mock favela set up in Rio de Janeiro on December 3, 2013. (Christophe Simon/AFP/Getty Images)
Members of the Brazilian Army, Navy and Air Force stand at attention during a presentation in Brasilia on June 8, 2014. (Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)
Members of the Brazilian Army, Navy and Air Force attend a presentation of defense and security personnel and equipment that will be used during the 2014 World Cup in Brasilia on June 8, 2014. (Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)
A supporter from Colombia kisses a replica of the World Cup with Rio de Janeiro in the background, on top of Sugarloaf Mountain on June 9, 2014. (Reuters/Paul Hanna)
A Brazilian Navy sniper participates in a mock hostage rescue drill in Rio de Janeiro on May 27, 2013. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Brazilian Army soldiers take part in a simulated explosion of a radioactive device during a safety drill outside Mane Garrincha National Stadium in Brasilia, on June 9, 2014, ahead of the FIFA World Cup.
Rescue workers in chemical protective gear, aid a man playing the role of a victim during a simulation of an attack in the subway, as part of the 2014 World Cup preparations, in Rio de Janeiro, on May 31, 2014. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
Laborers work on the construction of the Arena de Sao Paulo Stadium, one of the venues for the 2014 World Cup, in the Sao Paulo district of Itaquera, on March 15, 2014. (Reuters/Paulo Whitaker)
Employees make stuffed toys of Fuleco the Armadillo, the official mascot of the FIFA 2014 World Cup, at a factory in Tianchang, Anhui province, China, on January 6, 2014. (Reuters/Stringer)
(Reuters/Sara Farid)
Belgian entrepreneurs Fabio Lavalle (left) and David Dos Santos pose with the "diabolica" trumpet in Mons, Belgium, on May 16, 2014. Ear-splitting vuvuzelas were an ever-present backdrop to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa. Four years on, two Belgian entrepreneurs hope to fill stadiums in Brazil with the high-pitched noise from plastic trumpets dubbed "diabolica". (Reuters/Francois Lenoir)
(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A man exchanges stickers for the official 2014 FIFA World Cup sticker album at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City June 7, 2014. Italian publishing company Panini has issued the sticker album for every World Cup since the 1970 tournament in Mexico, and hundreds showed up on Saturday for the chance to fill their 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil editions, local media reported. (Reuters/Bernardo Montoya)
Military/security staff shelter from the sun in the shadow of a stadium wall as they watch the Netherlands training session at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, held at the Estadio Jose Bastos Padilha Gavea on June 8, 2014 in Rio de Janeiro. (Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
(Reuters/Joedson Alves)
(AP Photo/Felipe Dana)
A hot air balloon in the likeness of Brazil's Christ The Redeemer statute, wearing the colors of Australia's soccer team, floats through clouds over the Melbourne, Australia, skyline on June 10, 2014. (AP Photo/sportsbet.com.au, Dave Callow)
Otter "Arashi" acting as goalkeeper, saves a soccer ball hurled by a sea lion, left, during a show at Aburatsubo Marine Park in Miura, near Tokyo, Japan, on June 7, 2014. The aquarium began staging the event on Saturday, during the 2014 World Cup soccer tournament in Brazil. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
(Reuters/Nacho Doce)
(AP Photo/Luis Hidalgo)
Caique wears a Brazilian national soccer jersey in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, on June 8, 2014. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Ivory Coast's national football team goalkeeper Boubacar Barry stretches on the crossbar as he takes part in a team training session at Aguas de Lindoia on June 9, 2014, ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. (Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images)
Via: theatlantic
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