Paul in Brazil – A World Cup Special!

Despite England’s early exit, Brazilian World Cup fever continues to sweep across the world. It’s been one of the most exciting tournaments in recent history that we can remember here at PaulMcCartney.com.

Whilst our sporting icons at home didn’t quite perform as we had hoped, we can still be very proud of our music.

Before making their way home, England played their final match against Costa Rica at Estádio Mineirão (Belo Horizonte) last week. This is the same stadium and city where Paul launched his 2013 ‘Out There’ tour and sadly we can only now dream that our boys might have enjoyed the same kind of triumphant evening that he did…

But this isn't Paul's only connection to Brazil and the greatest sporting event in the world, far from it in fact…

Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte - May 2013

Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte - May 2013

Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte – June 2014
Colombia get off to a marvelous start winning 3-0 against Greece in front of thousands of Colombian fans who made the trip to Brazil

Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte – June 2014
Belgium come from behind to get off to a 2-1 win over Algeria

In 1990 Paul smashed box office attendance records with his first ever show in Brazil at Rio's Estádio do Maracanã - over 184,000 people came to see him. This also earned Paul another entry into the Guinness Book of World Records, this time for the Largest Concert Audience. This iconic stadium will host the World Cup final on Sunday 13th July.

Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro – April 1990

Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro - April 1990

Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro – June 2014
Messi scores a wonderful solo effort as Argentina beat Bosnia 2-1

Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro – June 2014
Chile eliminate holders Spain from the competition with a 2-0 victory

Since Paul's legendary Maracanã show he has performed a total of 15 times in Brazil, including cities also hosting the World Cup - São Paulo, Recife, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte and Fortaleza.

Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre - November 2010

Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre - November 2010

Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre - June 2014
First ever World Cup goal decided by goal line technology in France’s 3-0 win over Honduras

Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre - June 2014
Tim Cahill scores goal of the tournament as gutsy Australia lose 3-2 to Netherlands, one of the most exciting games of the World Cup so far

In terms of performing in actual stadiums being used in the tournament, in addition to the Maracanã and Estádio Mineirão, Paul's last Brazilian appearance was at the Estádio de Futebol Castelão in Fortaleza. Paul was the first artist to perform at the stadium and played to a packed out stadium of over 50,000 people in May 2013. At the time we reported that as it was a brand new World Cup stadium there were a few problems when Paul visited, as the roads around the stadium hadn’t quite been finished which meant it took longer to get the crowds in than usual.

This show was memorable for a few more reasons too. During ‘Hey Jude’ the audience surprised Paul by releasing yellow and green balloons into the air creating a truly spectacular sight.

Estádio de Futebol Castelão, Fortaleza – May 2013

Estádio de Futebol Castelão, Fortaleza – May 2013

Estádio de Futebol Castelão, Fortaleza – June 2014
Costa Rica shock Uruguay after coming from behind to win 3-1

Estádio de Futebol Castelão, Fortaleza – June 2014
Brazil held 0-0 by Mexico as host national struggle to beat Mexican keeper Ochoa in one of the individual performances of the tournament so far

Towards the end of the show Paul spotted a sign in the audience that read, "Paul I want to propose to my love onstage. Would you bless us?"  Paul was happy to oblige and invited the couple on stage.

Estádio de Futebol Castelão, Fortaleza – May 2013

The people of Brazil have shown a lot of love to Paul over the years, which Paul has always matched with his performances. We’ve seen scenes of McCartney-mania wherever he has traveled. Thousands of fans camped outside hotels, mobbed airports, streets lined with posters, helicopters in the sky and endless front pages. Paul’s show in Belo Horizonte last year came about as the result of a huge Facebook petition launched by local fans that got so big Paul couldn’t ignore it! Ahead of Paul’s visit in 2010, his first trip in 20 years, makeshift ‘McCartney villages’ popped up around the stadiums as fans camped outside for days waiting for the doors to open!

We have noted though that the city of Goiânia doesn’t seem to be hosting any games. We don’t want to speculate but maybe this has something to do with Harold the grasshopper?

“He’s called Harold!”, Goiânia - May 2013

Outside of Brazil, Paul has spent a lot of time touring all over South America in recent years. In April of this year Paul took his ‘Out There’ tour to Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador and Costa Rica - all countries competing in the tournament with both Uruguay and Costa Rica playing England in the group stages.

Uruguay took on Roy Hodgson's lions in São Paulo and the less said about this the better! When Paul played in Uruguay this year he and Uruguayan football legend Luis Suárez made headlines across the world when they came face to face (sort of) via an online chat.

So despite our football failures we can still celebrate our music on a global stage… We know it’s something that we are actually unbeatable in!

All the best!

PaulMcCartney.com

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BRAZILIAN REVIEW FROM THE ARCHIVES:

_Estadio De Minas – Belo Horizonte, May 2013

The opening of the 'Out There' tour in BH was an emotional evening. Paul’s show brought Beatle-mania as over 50,000 people turned out to see the music idol.

Paul’s audience was a meeting of different generations. His show moved everyone, including himself.

Watching Paul McCartney is one thing, watching him live in our hometown is another. An air of wonder was mixed with disbelief on Saturday that this was actually happening. He was here and not only did he do what was expected of him, he surpassed it. The lights, the giant screens, the special effects, a collection of classics – all part of the package of the greatest-ever living artist.

The stadium was full of happy faces. Parents hugged their children, bearded men danced arm-in-arm, lovers embraced – everyone was enjoying themselves. Children, teenagers, lovers, old, lonely – were all united and together now.

We had bought tickets to a rock show but we also got an overdose of the elixir of youth!

On May 4th, 2013, we heard Paul actually say "Uai" here in Belo Horizonte. None of us will forget this night. The night we saw a boy of 70 running, singing, jumping, smiling and talking to us all._

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PAUL IN BRAZIL – THE STATS:

April 1990: Rio de Janeiro, Estádio do Maracanã – ‘World Tour’
April 1990: Rio de Janeiro, Estádio do Maracanã – ‘World Tour’
Dec 1993: São Paulo, Estádio do Pacaembu – ‘New World Tour’
Dec 1993: Curitiba, Pedreira Paulo Leminski Rock – ‘New World Tour’
Nov 2010: Porto Alegre, Estádio Beira-Rio – ‘Up and Coming’
Nov 2010: São Paulo, Estádio do Morumbi – ‘Up and Coming’
Nov 2010: São Paulo, Estádio do Morumbi – ‘Up and Coming’
May 2011: Rio de Janeiro, Estádio Olímpico João Havelange – ‘Up and Coming’
May 2011: Rio de Janeiro, Estádio Olímpico João Havelange – ‘Up and Coming’
April 2012: Recife, Estádio do Arruda – ‘On The Run’
April 2012: Recife, Estádio do Arruda – ‘On The Run’
April 2012: Florianopolis, Estádio da Ressacada – ‘On The Run’
May 2013: Belo Horizonte, Estádio Mineirão – ‘Out There’
May 2013: Goiânia, Estádio Serra Dourada – ‘Out There’
May 2013: Fortaleza. Estádio de Futebol Castelão – ‘Out There’

Brazilian World Cup Cities Played:
Rio de Janeiro x 4 (1990, 1990, 2011, 2011)
São Paulo x 3 (1993, 2010, 2010)
Recife x 2 (2012, 2012)
Curitiba x 1 (1993)
Porto Alegre x 1 (2010)
Belo Horizonte x 1 (2013)
Fortaleza x 1 (2013)

Other Non-World Cup Brazilian cities:
Florianopolis x 1 (2012)
Goiânia x 1 (2013)

Brazilian World Cup Stadiums Played:
Estádio do Maracanã (Rio de Janeiro) x 2 - 1990, ‘World Tour’
Estádio Beira-Rio (Porto Alegre) x 1 – ‘Up and Coming’
Estádio Mineirão (Belo Horizonte) x 1 - May 2013, ‘Out There’
Estádio de Futebol Castelão (Fortaleza) x 1 - May 2013, ‘Out There’

Brazilian Non-World Cup Stadiums Played:
Estádio do Morumbi (São Paulo) x 2
Estádio Olímpico João Havelange (Rio de Janeiro) x 2
Estádio do Arruda (Recife) x 2
Estádio do Pacaembu (São Paulo) x 1
Pedreira Paulo Leminski (Curitiba) x 1
Estádio da Ressacada (Florianopolis) x 1
Estádio Serra Dourada (Goiânia) x 1