Brazil World Cup Stadiums Officially Open

The Mane Garrincha World Cup stadium was officially opened by Brazil’s predient Dilma Rousseff last weekend. 

There had been controversy over delays in construction and escalating costs but Rousseff insisted the 71,000 seater stadium demonstrated Brazil’s capability. 

She said: “A year ago they said that we wouldn’t build our stadiums, that they wouldn’t be ready. But now we are seeing that the stadiums have been built and are being opened. I am extremely proud of the quality and modernity of the facilities. It’s a demonstration of Brazilians’ capacity to successfully carry out what many said was beyond us.”

The venue opened five months behind schedule and cost $500 million, almost double its original budget.

The stadium will host the FIFA Confederations Cup opening match between Brazil and Japan on June 15 as well as six 2014 World Cup fixtures.

First Solar-Powered 2014 World Cup Stadium Inaugrated

The first solar-powered World Cup stadium has also been completed and been inaugrated.

The stadium, in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, has a 1.4MW solar array on its roof. The electricity it generates will be fed into the grid, rather than directly back into the stadium.

The solar project cost €12.5 million ($16.1m). German bank KFw provided a €10m ($12.8m) loan and the remainder was provided by Brazilian utility firm CEMIG.