Tied to a period of economic growth and political stability, Brazil has aggressively pursued a series of mega-events from the Pan-American Games in 2007 to the 2016 Rio Olympics. These events are used by the Brazilian national and local governments to showcase their economic prosperity and to promote the country as one that is on equal footing with global powers. However, with the comings and goings of the international sporting caravans, each requiring billions in public financing, the question remains: where is the benefit for the ordinary Brazilian that stays behind after the parade has moved on?’
Critical reflections on Brazil 2014 and Rio 2016
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26 August 2014
20 August 2014
Post-prandial teeth picking
The hunt for Brazilian White Elephants continues, albeit at a slower pace than before the World Cup. The hunters have gorged on their catch for a month and have started to take on the physical characteristics of their prey. Though the appetite has dulled through repetitive ingestion of the same delicious meat, the knives are still sharp.
FIFA released its technical report last week, finally revealing their official count of stadium capacities and attendances. While FIFA will not reveal the number of tickets available for each category, nor the number of VIP, VVIP and hospitality tickets, or make their general figures for attendance and costs at their tournaments public information. Yet from the information they do provide we can glean some insight into the generalized trouble with measuring the costs of the tournament.
As I was picking my teeth with a piece of tusk, I found the following information regarding stadium capacities for the World Cup:
(DW=Deutsche Welle, FA=English FA, EC=Engenharia Civil, WS=World Stadiums)
Incredibly, all of these sources have different seating capacity numbers for the stadiums. As I have pointed out before, none of the four Brazilian government transparency sites for the World Cup agree on how much the stadiums cost. Given that there isn't agreement about how many people can fit in the stadiums themselves, this shouldn't be surprising.
FIFA released its technical report last week, finally revealing their official count of stadium capacities and attendances. While FIFA will not reveal the number of tickets available for each category, nor the number of VIP, VVIP and hospitality tickets, or make their general figures for attendance and costs at their tournaments public information. Yet from the information they do provide we can glean some insight into the generalized trouble with measuring the costs of the tournament.
As I was picking my teeth with a piece of tusk, I found the following information regarding stadium capacities for the World Cup:
| FIFA | Copa2014 | Portal | DW | FA | EC | WS | |
| BH | 58170 | 62160 | 64500 | 62547 | 64000 | 62000 | 62170 |
| BRA | 69439 | 72800 | 71000 | 68009 | 71412 | 68000 | 70064 |
| CUI | 41112 | 41390 | 43600 | 42968 | 43000 | 43000 | 44336 |
| CUR | 39631 | 43000 | 42000 | 41456 | 41456 | 44000 | 43981 |
| FOR | 60342 | 63900 | 67037 | 64846 | 63903 | 65000 | 67037 |
| MAN | 40549 | 44500 | 44310 | 42374 | 44000 | 41000 | 42374 |
| NAT | 39971 | 42000 | 45000 | 42086 | 43000 | 42000 | 42086 |
| POA | 43394 | 50000 | 60800 | 48849 | 47100 | 43000 | 51300 |
| REC | 42610 | 46000 | 46000 | 42849 | 46000 | 46000 | 46154 |
| RIO | 74738 | 78838 | 76000 | 73531 | 78838 | 71000 | 78838 |
| SAL | 51900 | 55000 | 50223 | 48747 | 53700 | 50000 | 56500 |
| SAO | 62601 | 68000 | 65000 | 65807 | 68000 | 60000 | 65807 |
(DW=Deutsche Welle, FA=English FA, EC=Engenharia Civil, WS=World Stadiums)
Incredibly, all of these sources have different seating capacity numbers for the stadiums. As I have pointed out before, none of the four Brazilian government transparency sites for the World Cup agree on how much the stadiums cost. Given that there isn't agreement about how many people can fit in the stadiums themselves, this shouldn't be surprising.