Coen Lammers: Colourful arrival to Sao Paulo

A man dressed in an outfit with Brazilian flags motifs stands on downtown corner in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo / AP

Opinion

Sao Paulo is buzzing. And that's just Guarulhos Airport.

With only 24 hours to go before the opening match of the World Cup, the largest airport in South America is a frenzy of international football strips.

Fans are rushing through the three massive terminals to get to the 12 venues across Brazil to see their own heroes in action.

At times, the airport resembles a football stadium with chants of Chile, Chile roaring through Terminal 2 as yet another plane from Santiago disembarks. A couple of staunch Australians, who shared the flight, reply with the tedious oi, oi, oi, to warm up for their group B encounter in Ciuiba on Saturday.

The check-in and service counters are overflowing with anxious fans who have missed their connections and are desperate not be late for their matches after spending thousands of dollars to get to Brazil.

On the eve of the tournament, the transport system across the country looks to be at a breaking point and if it can survive today, the rest of tournament should be a breeze.

The language is clearly a barrier as most visitors have to make themselves understood through gestures as most locals only speak a mouthful of English, at best.

Still, the spirit of the World Cup appears alive as well, as the famous Brazilian smile settled frail emotions around the airport.

Between thousands of foreign shirts, the famous yellow of Brazil still dominates the airport with the locals are joining the party. Listening to their enthusiasm, the grumbles over budgets and strikes are rapidly evaporating.

The second most popular outfit in the arrival hall is a police or an army uniform.
Unsuspecting visitors are suddenly pushed aside by a wall of machine gun-wielding soldiers as yet another dignitary arrives at the VIP entrance to hop on the Fifa gravy train.

A glamorous blonde Brazilian broadcaster is reporting live from behind the waiting Fifa limousines, while the locals inside the terminal are fixated on the numerous television screens to hear who else is been invited to enjoy their tax dollars.

Brazil has dozens of local television stations but today there only seems to be one: Fifa TV at all its many different guises across the channels.

The latest training and injury update on superstar Neymar obviously dominate the coverage, closely followed by the continuing threats of strikes, the gridlock in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and stories on how working parents are going to cope with the World Cup holidays.

To alleviate the expected traffic chaos the Brazilian Government thought it pulled a nice election year rabbit out of the hat by closing all schools during the World Cup, but it is not hard to see how that is causing a different kind of chaos the family home.

On top of that, businesses and public offices in every city will be closed for the match days in their town so everyone go to the game or the fan fests. Child and family services in Brazil may be busy on those days.