RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil â€" Unwilling or unable to pay exorbitant hotel prices, hundreds of soccer fans in Brazil for the World Cup have opted to camp out on the beach during the tournament.
Fans arriving in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro are sleeping on Copacabana Beach, and are also filling the Rodoviária Novo Rio intercity bus terminal and other public locations.
An official survey of hotel rates ahead of the World Cup showed daily prices soared by up to 600% for the monthlong tournament in some of the 12 host cities, The Guardian reported. The study also found that the average hotel room in Rio for June costed $461 a night.
Some fans, including those from Argentina, Colombia and Chile, are set to stay in Brazil for weeks without any booked accommodation. Wrapped in blankets and sleeping bags, they can be seen lying against fences and palm trees along Rio's most famous beach. Others sleep hunkered down directly in the sand, some a little worse for wear after a night out on the town.
Argentinian fan Waltel Diaz, a 45-year-old ambulance driver, arrived in Rio with a group of friends, but couldn't find a cheap place to rent. “Right now, we're sleeping here on Copacabana Beach because we couldn't find a place to stay. It was a little scary at first, but there are plenty of police around,†he told Mashable.
Diaz and his friends will try again on Sunday to find a bed for the night, but others are planning to see out their time in Brazil on the beach, saying it just comes down to priorities. “If I had chosen to stay at a hotel, I would not have been able to afford food and drinks,†said Nicolas Schwab, 24, also from Argentina.
Schwab said he plans to stay on the beach and enjoy the nearby FIFA Fan Fest, an area set aside on the beach for soccer fans to gather together and watch the games on big screens, “until Argentina wins the World Cup.â€
Many fans have traveled thousands of miles from neighboring countries by bus or car to get to Brazil for the soccer tournament, sometimes arriving without tickets or reservations, just to be part of the event.
For many, sleeping on the beach is just another part of their World Cup adventure, and gives them the chance to camp out in Rio's stunning surroundings.
Some 600,000 foreign tourists are expected to make their way to Brazil for the World Cup, joining more than 3 million Brazilian tourists who are also traveling between the tournament's host cities.
Steffen Stubager and Asger Mow are freelance journalists based in Rio de Janeiro. You can follow them on Twitter at @StefStub and @Asger_Mow. Additional reporting by São Paulo-based freelance journalist Ben Tavener (@bentavener).
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