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World Cup 2014: Demonstrator arrested and two journalists injured in anti-government protests World Cup 2014: Tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades on the streets of Sao Paulo as tournament begins
(about 1 hour later)
Brazil kicked off the 2014 Fifa World Cup on Thursday with a vibrant Opening Ceremony - but for hundreds of protesters in Sao Paulo the day marked the beginning of a tournament which has sucked millions of dollars away from the country's starved public services. The final hours of build up to the most eagerly but most nervously anticipated sporting event in decades began with tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades fired down the streets of Sao Paulo, as the promised and much feared protests materialised, where there was hope that they wouldn't.
While demonstrations had largely died down by kick-off in the evening, the afternoon saw clashes between the police and protesters in Sao Paulo. At least 200 protesters clashed with riot police as they sought to block a road five miles from the Arena Corinthians, and sabotage an event that has cost billions of pounds of public money in a nation fraught with poverty and inequality.
At least one protester was arrested, and two journalists from US broadcaster CNN were injured as police and protest, according local media and the broadcaster’s website. At least one person was detained by police, and six people injured, three of them journalists.
Officers fired tear gas and used noise bombs in an attempt to disperse the 100-strong crowd, a spokesman for Sao Paulo state's military police said. In the arena itself, the scenes in the stands were more enchanting than the short opening ceremony, as the 65,000 seats turned slowly into a sea of yellow, for the first World Cup in Brazil in 64 years.
But two hours later, the activists had regrouped three blocks away, and were seen throwing rocks at the police and setting fire to rubbish bins. You can forgive Brazil for keeping its ceremony powder dry. They have the rather larger affair of the Olympics Opening Ceremony to consider in two years time. At 3pm local time, over a luminous polyethylene carpet, dancers dress as lilac teardrops ran in concentric circles around a glowing 'living ball' - which then opened like a Terry's Chocolate Orange to reveal Jennifer Lopez, the rapper Pitbull in worrisomely tight white trousers and the Brazilian pop singer Claudia Leitte, who sang the World Cup theme tune, We Are One.
The demonstrators had gathered to protest against heavy public spending on the tournament, after the government had assured Brazilians that the vast majority of funding would come from the private sector. A total of 660 dancers paid tribute to the country's 'nature and people', but those in the stands were hard pressed to comprehend quite how, as school boys did keepy uppy with balls on ropes, and the usual cast of gymnasts in medieval jester style outfits somersaulted over one another and bounced up and down on trampolines.
Protesters then attempted to take advantage of Thursday’s opening ceremony to draw attention to their cause, by cutting off a key avenue leading to the Corinithians Arena where Brazil will play Croatia at 8pm (GMT). If it all felt a little short, it was in no small part because neither the Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff nor Fifa President Sepp Blatter made speeches, fearful of the loud booing that met them at the Confederations Cup last year.
Industrial action and further protests were also planned across Brazil’s 12 host cities, including a 24-hour slowdown by some airport workers in Rio de Janeiro, although the threat of a long subway strike in Sao Paulo had eased. Ms Rousseff has pleased for Brazilians to welcome visitors just as Brazil has been welcomed at other tournaments.
About a dozen disgruntled airport workers blocked a road outside Rio's international airport on Thursday morning, causing heavy traffic. Meanwhile workers at Rio de Janeiro's three airports announced a strike over pay and World Cup bonuses, causing tanks to be dispatched to the international terminal fearful of angry scenes with thousands of passengers likely to be affected.
Some businesses in Rio, the venue for seven Cup games, including the final, had boarded up windows and doors by late on Wednesday in case protests erupted. But the city's metro system was packed with fans in the yellow of Brazil and the red and white of Croatia, after workers called off a strike planned for Thursday that had the potential to seriously damage the opening match.
However, the protests are tame in comparison to action last year which saw a million people gather in Sao Paulo’s streets on a single night. The influential Homeless Movement, who were planning major protests at all 64 of the tournament's matches have also called off their plans.
Many Brazilians feel betrayed that the over $11.3 billion has been spent on hosting the World Cup, when basic social services in the country continue to be poorly financed. Their pessimism has so far overshadowed a brighter mood among the some 800,000 foreign tourists expected to arrive Brazil for the event. Below the 20,000 seat temporary stands, which were just about finished in time, Brazil fans milled about in the concourses like bees in a hive, electrifying stuff. On the pitch, there were men dressed as trees turning in circles, bright humanoid flowers in pink and green, and women in dresses so wide, short and lace-covered they were less meringue, more coconut biscuit. But it is that Brazilian yellow - the colour they only after adopted after the Maracanazo - the disaster of the Maracana - when they lost the 1950 World Cup final wearing blue and white.
Melisa da Silva, who wore Brazil's green and yellow colours as she headed to work on the subway, said the country may cheer up once play begins. And there can be no doubting the most electrifying moment of all - at least in the build up. When living ball was dismantled, the pitch covering rolled away, and the Selecao, as the Brazilian team likes to call itself ran on the pitch, many with their fingers pointed first to the stands and then to the sky, the noise suddenly loud, intense and expectant.
“Well, it's here, and I think now it's time to cheer the team,” she said. “I don't see why people should still be sad.” There are protests planned at each of the 64 matches of this year's tournament, which has cost around £7bn, the most expensive World Cup in history. But many, if not most Brazilians are just as intent as the protesters are on enjoying the football - they have certainly paid for it. In Sao Paulo, many residents approached the riot police to offer congratualtions for their zero tolerance tactics.
The build-up to the tournament in the country widely considered to be the spiritual home of football has been marred by construction delays and months of political unrest. How smoothly the tournament runs will likely affect President Dilma Rousseff's chances for re-election in October, as well as Brazil's flagging reputation among investors. President Rousseff has defended the money spent on the tournament, citing the infrastructure improvements and lasting legacy it will bring. But many such projects were never started, and some are unfinished now the tournament is under way, not least the Sao Paulo monorail, on which a worker was killed on Tuesday.
Polls show she now holds a lead of about 10 percentage points over her likely rival if the election goes to a second round, as most expect. The country built twelve new stadiums to host the tournament, all largely from scratch. Previous hosts have had more to begin with, and then staged the tournament in fewer venues.
President Rousseff has dismissed complaints about overspending and delays in preparing stadiums and airports, and is betting Brazil will put on a show on and off the field. The build up has also been set against unprecedented levels of scandal and criticism levelled at Fifa, as yet more corruption allegations have emerged. The football has felt a long time in coming. Not before time, it is underway.
Additional reporting by agencies