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world cup 2014
Jennifer Lopez has decided to pull out of performing the official World Cup song at this year’s tournament’s opening ceremony in Brazil, FIFA has announced.
Officials said Jennifer Lopez could not attend Thursday’s show because of unspecified “production issues”.
Jennifer Lopez was due to perform alongside rapper Pitbull and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte, with whom she has recorded the song We Are One (Ole Ola).
Pitbull and Claudia Leitte will go ahead and perform accompanied by drummers Olodum.
Jennifer Lopez was due to perform at the World Cup 2014 opening ceremony alongside Pitbull and Claudia Leitte
“For production issues, Jennifer Lopez, one of the artists of the official song We Are One, will not be able to perform at the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony,” said a statement.
The 25-minute ceremony in Sao Paulo will feature 600 artists, including acrobatic gymnasts, trampolinists, martial arts-style performers and stilt walkers.
Last week, Jennifer Lopez said she was “thrilled” to be given the chance to perform at the opening ceremony.
“This is an amazing celebration of global unity, competition and sport,” she said.
Pitbull appeared not to be downhearted at Jennifer Lopez’s withdrawal from the show.
“To be performing We Are One to the world, especially in such a beautiful country like Brazil, is going to be a lot of fun,” Pitbull said in a statement released by FIFA.
“But more than this, it is going to show the world that music is the universal language.”
Jennifer Lopez also missed the January event where Pitbull and Claudia Leitte unveiled plans for the song alongside FIFA officials in Rio de Janeiro.
More than 60,000 people are expected to be in Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena to watch the ceremony and kick-off match between Brazil and Croatia.
Up to a billion people are expected to tune in on TV worldwide
Jennifer Lopez’s cancellation comes amid protests and strikes in Brazil, where some are unhappy about the amount of money being spent on the tournament.
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Brazilian riot police fired tear gas at anti-World Cup and indigenous demonstrators in the capital, Brasilia.
Stones were hurled at security forces as hundreds of protesters tried to reach the National Stadium – where the golden tournament cup is on display.
A group of indigenous people who were demanding land rights at Congress eventually joined the protest.
Riot police fired tear gas at anti-World Cup and indigenous demonstrators in Brasilia
This is the latest in a series of demonstrations in Brazil against the cost of staging the tournament.
Authorities say around 1,500 people were taking part in Tuesday’s demonstration, which blocked one of the main roads of the city.
As the crowd tried to walk towards the National Stadium, host to several tournament matches, mounted police blocked their way.
With tensions running high, police fired tear gas several times to break up the demonstration.
The crowd was joined by a group of indigenous people who had climbed onto the roof of the Brazilian Congress building to demand changes in how their land is demarcated.
A policeman was reportedly injured in the leg by an arrow shot during the scuffles.
The demonstrations gridlocked the traffic in Brasilia for hours.
Last year, up to a million people joined demonstrations across the country to demand better public services and highlight corruption and the high cost of staging the World Cup.
Since then several other anti-World Cup protests have been staged in Brazil, with many descending into violence.
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Thousands of protesters in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro who marched against the cost of hosting the football World Cup in Brazil have been dispersed by riot police firing tear gas.
Some demonstrators hurled stones while other burned tyres and blocked roads.
They say they are angry that billions of dollars are being spent on next month’s football tournament, rather than social projects and housing.
Protests also took place in many other cities, including the capital Brasilia.
Teachers and civil servants, among others, were also on strike across Brazil.
Thousands of protesters in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro marched against the cost of hosting the football World Cup in Brazil (photo Reuters)
In Rio, aerial images showed hundreds of people marching in rush-hour traffic on a main thoroughfare. The city will host the final match of the World Cup on July 13.
Protesters there and in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, clashed with police before beginning to disperse.
The number of people on the streets was much lower than during similar protests last year.
Some of those taking part, however, promised the demonstrations would get bigger and more frequent as the World Cup gets closer.
Last June, more than a million people took to the street over poor public services, corruption and the high cost of hosting the World Cup.
The tournament is due to kick off on June 12.
The demonstrations began earlier in the day in Sao Paulo, with one of the biggest protests in the city’s Itaquera district near the Arena Corinthians stadium, which will host the tournament’s opening match.
Protesters there demanded housing, and not stadiums, be built in accordance with FIFA standards, in reference to world football’s governing body.
“Our goal is symbolic,” said Guilherme Boulos, the head of Homeless Workers Movement.
“We don’t want to destroy or damage the stadium. What we want is more rights for workers to have access to housing and to show the effects the Cup has brought to the poor.”
The government has tried to downplay the scale of Thursday’s unrest, arguing it was not related to the World Cup.
“From what I’ve seen, these are specific claims by workers. I’ve seen nothing that is related to the [World] Cup,” Brazilian Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo said.
“There’s no reason to panic ahead of receiving three million Brazilian tourists and 600,000 foreign tourists [for the tournament].”
The planned protests coincide with a range of strikes, including one by the police force in the north-eastern state of Pernambuco.
The army was deployed there to provide additional support after some robberies and looting, before the strike ended on its third day.
Local media reported that, in the last 24 hours alone, 234 people were arrested. Recife, the state capital, is due to host five matches during the World Cup.
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Tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil went on sale today, with fans able to apply on FIFA’s website.
FIFA is expecting a similar demand to Germany 2006, when there were about seven applicants for every ticket of the 64-match tournament.
Around 3.3 million tickets will be available for the tournament.
Tickets will range in price from $90)for first-round matches to $990 for the final at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian citizens over 60, local students and members of some social programs can purchase tickets for $23.
Tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil went on sale with fans able to apply on FIFA’s website
“It’s always difficult to predict,” said FIFA marketing director Thierry Weil.
“But I truly believe that it will be more toward to what happened in Germany than in South Africa in 2010.”
According to FIFA, the 2006 World Cup was attended by more than 3.3 million fans. Almost two million tickets were sold to the general public in South Africa, although the number of applications during the first ticketing phase was significantly lower.
All applications made before 10 October 2013 will enter a random selection draw if there are not enough tickets available to fulfill all requests.
The sales of the leftover tickets will begin on November 5 on a first-come, first-served basis. Another phase will begin on December 8 after the draw is made.
The tournament begins on June 12, with Brazil playing the opener in Sao Paulo.
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At least 200,000 people have marched through the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities, as protests over rising public transport costs and the expense of staging the 2014 World Cup have spread.
The biggest demonstration was in Rio de Janeiro, where 100,000 people joined a mainly peaceful march.
In the capital, Brasilia, people breached security at the National Congress building and scaled its roof.
In Brazil’s largest city, Sao Paulo, about 65,000 people took to the streets.
The wave of protests kicked off earlier this month when Sao Paulo residents marched against an increase in the price of a single bus fare, from 3 reals ($1.40) to 3.20.
Authorities said the rise was well below inflation, which since the last price increase in January 2011 has been 15.5%, according to official figures.
The way these initial marches were policed – with officers accused of firing rubber bullets and tear gas at peaceful protesters – further incensed Sao Paulo residents and shifted the focus from rising transport costs to wider issues.
“For many years, the government has been feeding corruption, people are demonstrating against the system,” Graciela Cacador told Reuters news agency.
Others complained about vast sums of money spent on hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics instead of being invested in health and education.
“This is a communal cry saying: <<We’re not satisfied!>>,” Maria Claudia Cardoso told the Associated Press news agency.
At least 200,000 people have marched through the streets of Brazil’s biggest cities, as protests over rising public transport costs and the expense of staging the 2014 World Cup have spread
“We don’t have good schools for our kids. Our hospitals are in awful shape. Corruption is rife. These protests will make history and wake our politicians up to the fact we’re not taking it anymore,” she said.
“We need better education, hospitals and security, not billions spent on the World Cup,” said one mother who attended the Sao Paulo march with her daughter.
“We’re a rich country with a lot of potential but the money doesn’t go to those who need it most,” 26-year-old photographer Manoela Chiabai told the Associated Press.
Police took a hands-off approach at Monday’s demonstration following an earlier meeting between protest organizers and security chiefs at which they had agreed that regular police would not carry rubber bullet guns.
Protests were reported in as many as 11 cities on Monday.
In Rio 100,000 people took part in a mainly peaceful march, although a small group threw rocks at police, wounding five officers. They also set fire to a car and vandalized the state assembly building.
Police there reportedly used tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets to disperse them.
There were also clashes with police in Belo Horizonte, which was hosting the latest game in the Confederations Cup, the warm-up tournament for the World Cup.
An 18-year-old is reportedly in a stable condition in hospital after falling from an overpass in the city.
And in Brasilia, more than 200 protesters managed to get onto the roof of the National Congress building. After negotiations with police, the crowd agreed to leave. Later, youths formed a human chain around the building, the AFP news agency said.
“Peaceful demonstrations are legitimate,” President Dilma Rousseff said in a statement.
“It is natural for the young to demonstrate.”
However, Sports Minister Aldo Rebelo warned protesters that the authorities would not allow them to disrupt the Confederations Cup or next year’s World Cup.
“The government assumed the responsibility and the honor to stage these two international events, and will do so, ensuring the security and integrity of the fans and tourists,” he said.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, called on both sides to remain calm.
“We urge the Brazilian authorities to exercise restraint in dealing with spreading social protests in the country, and also call on demonstrators not to resort to acts of violence in pursuit of their demands,” said a spokesman for the High Commissioner.
“With further protests planned, we are however concerned that the reported excessive use of police force in recent days should not be repeated.”
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