Brazil's World Cup Opening: Participants And Guests Greeted With Graffiti Covered Streets

Brazil is a few days away from the grandest opening of the prestigious sport competition in the world, the FIFA World Cup. The event kicks off on June 12 lasting roughly a month with games taking place in various cities around the South American football-crazy nation.

Brazilians are well-known as colorful people with various ethnic backgrounds and diverse socioeconomic structure. Residents of various participating cities in the World Cup have taken to the streets to show their support for their national team and welcoming guests by painting nearly every available surface in different interpretations of the Brazilian flag, its colors and the national team players.

The paintings were mostly focused on Brazil's own home bets. But several murals have also popped up featuring national flags of the various participating nations and many of which were mostly football-themed. Other designs featured typical Brazilian iconic structures such as the Maracana Stadium and Rio de Janeiro's world-famous "Christ the Redeemer" statue.

Ordinary citizens have painted the streets in their neighborhood in various open spaces and even decrepit walls and basically about any available surface. Not all works were done by amateurs, although some were commissioned to the well-known local talents like Jambeiro.

The excitement has reached fever pitch as various protests continue to heat up all over the country with indigenous people and local workers in various sectors have also taken to the streets to protest the games and the large expense attributed to staging the event.

As tourists and participants pour in, security is a major concern. Brazilian officials must act soon to prevent an embarrassing catastrophe if cities are paralyzed by protesting transport workers.