Even though I planned to attend the FIFA World Cup in Brazil more than a year ago, I wasn’t able to secure tickets to the opening match due to the random lottery. That didn’t matter because I still wanted to be in Sao Paulo for the first match of the 2014 World Cup and the national team (Brazil) was playing against Croatia.
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For those who weren’t able to secure tickets to watch Brazil play against Croatia at Arena de São Paulo (Arena Corinthians), the alternative was to watch it for free at FIFA Fan Fest in Downtown Sao Paulo. I took the Sao Paulo metro and got off at Anhangabau station where I was greeted by student activists.
It was very festive on the sidewalks of Anhangabau Valley where Brazil and Croatia fans were enjoying themselves.
Croatia fans were very well accepted by Brazil fans since there isn’t any type of rivalry and Brazil was a huge favorite during the opening match.
I arrived about four hours earlier prior to the opening match because it was the hottest free event in Sao Paulo. In addition, it was also a national holiday and FIFA Fan Fest could only hold so many people.
There were medical tents around FIFA Fan Fest and people were generally excited about the match.
Even though I arrived four hours early, it was crowded at many of the entrances to FIFA Fan Fest.
Two hours prior, there was an announcement on stage where there would be a surprise musical guest.
The crowd was entertained with Brazilian songs.
The crowd was also entertained with songs by Blur and The Red Hot Chili Peppers
The surprise musical guest ended up being Luan Santana who is a Brazilian singer. He definitely wooed the crowd, especially the females.
After the mini-concert from Luan Santana, the Brazil v. Croatia match followed with the crowd singing the Brazilian National Anthem.
I also noticed that drones were being used during FIFA Fan Fest.
The crowd went berserk when Brazil scored the first goal of the match!
Here’s a crowd reaction when Croatia scored their first goal.
Here’s a crowd reaction when Brazil scores their second goal.
Brazil scored its last and final goal to win it 3-1 against Croatia.
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