World Cup 2014, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Brasil

Belo Horizonte has qualified as a host city for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil along with another eleven cities. There are usually ten cities hosting the World Cup contest every four years, but Brazil was granted a special request with two cities sharing one stadium. The Belo Horizonte stadium was built by the government, which is usually the case in Brazil, and is called Mineirao, with a capacity of only nearly 72,000, it is just one of the stadiums to host the 2014 World Cup. It is home to two different teams, Esporte Clube and Atletico Miniero, and the Brazilian team have played there several times, which may be an advantage for them when the world cup begins. The Brazilian world cup is to be held in a country which is home to the Amazon Rain Forest, which a visit for many will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit the greatest forests on Earth.

Belo Horizonte Tourism

Belo Horizonte translated to English means "Beautiful City" and they are not wrong. The city is situated in mountains over 100 kilometers from the sea, its highest point is 1500 meters above sea level. The main religion is Catholic, as is most of Brazil, and there are hundreds of churches and statues to reaffirm this. Forests and nature reserves surround Belo Horizonte creating a surreal feeling of tranquility and peacefulness, yet with a vibrant underlying tone of excitement. You can rent a car and driver for a day to explore parts of the Tropical Rain Forests, or rent your own 4x4 and go self exploring, but please keep to the tracks, there are hundreds of thousands of dangerous snakes and spiders in Brazil, whose bite or sting can kill a grown man in under seven minutes. Be prepared. Many day trips are on offer to Eco sites, as well as historic monuments, museums and other cultural establishments. But if you are going to Belo Horizonte for the World Cup 2014, there is even more for you to experience.

First of all, there were three countries who wanted to host the World Cop 2014, Brazil, Argentina and Columbia. Columbia backed out at virtually the last minute and in the end Argentina never put forward a tender or plan, so Brazil was the country in the running to host the most famous competition in the world, and won. The twelve host cities for the world cup 2014 are:

Belo Horizonte.....Recife....Manaus....Curitiba....Cuiaba....Brasilia

Porto Alegre....Sao Paulo....Rio de Janeiro....Natal...Fortaleza....Salvador

Click on the city for more information about each area, and the location of each city is on the map below.

Over one billion US dollars are being spent to improve the infra structure such as road and rail link throughout the city, and the intercity network is also being improved. Nearly all the airports for the Brazilian World Cup are also having a major over haul to allow for the extra influx of passengers. Many hotels and hostels are already taking bookings for rooms, nearly four years in advance, as are car hire companies as mini buses, motor-homes, 8 seatersand especially 4x4s and jeeps, tend to be rented out very quickly, but please ensure that you have fully comprehensive insurance on them, crime in Brazil is not the lowest in the world. Local shops selling local produce are also to be given tax breaks, allowing them to sell their goods cheaper to entice in the tourists. But be careful, Brazil is next to Columbia, organised crime including prostitution and drugs are possibly not far away.