Host City Posters of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™

 2014 FIFA World Cup BrazilTM will gather 32 National Teams that will play in 12 Brazilian cities, from June 12th through July 13th, 2014. The stamps of this issue focus on these host cities: Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador e São Paulo, through Host City Posters of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™. The opening game will take place in the city of São Paulo, on June 12th. The city was portrayed on the Host City Posters of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™ as a metropolis where thousands of people live, celebrate and breathe soccer together, in the biggest city of Brazil. The Belo Horizonte´s stamp depicts the silhouette of the Church of São Francisco de Assis, considered to be the masterpiece of Pampulha, which is brought to life by the overlapping pentagons which define the ball’s shape. Also, from the southeast region, the city of Rio de Janeiro was illustrated by a silhouette of the carefree footballer balancing a football on his neck forms a heart which symbolizes the people’s deep love of football in Rio de Janeiro. Each layer in turn stands for one aspect of Rio de Janeiro: the beach, the mountains, the Sugarloaf, the sea and the sky. The city of Manaus represents the north region of the country. The artwork focus an unique feature: here, in the heart of the world´s largest rainforest, we are all fans of nature. The design´s stamp from Brasília has in the background image of the famous Cathedral. The football player in the foreground is composed of various colours and thus represents all of the ethnicities that make up Brazilian society as well as the coming together of players from all over the world. The other city of the centrewestern region is Cuiabá. The poster uses bright colours to depict the joy the event brings and features football through the image of the ball at the player’s foot. The south of Brazil is represented by Curitiba and Porto Alegre. The allegory chosen by Curitiba features the image of a Brazilian pine tree (Araucaria), which rises high into the sky, stretching out its cones like cups. Porto Alegre portrays the Usina Gasômetro, a city landmark, a footballer kicking the ball and the explosion of this movement. Salvador, Recife, Natal e Fortaleza are the four cities from the north-east Brazil which will also be stage for the 2014 FIFA World CupTM. Salvador highlights in your landscape the Elevador Lacerda, a real magnet for visitors, who admire its beauty, and an important asset to the city’s inhabitants for its functionality. The Recife´s scene brings the essence of a coastal city full of movement, art and joy. The combination between the frevo dancer and the football player is in fact the key note of the art. The silhouette of a man with outstretched arms, on the city of Natal´s illustration, surrounded by the colours of the Brazilian national flag symbolize the country’s welcoming of the biggest football event on the planet. The joy of the Fortaleza people of hosting the competition is accompanied by a burst of euphoria, culture and beauty in a mix of vibrant colours moving like ocean waves and rays of sunshine In this issue paying homage to the 12 host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup BrazilTM, the Brazilian Post, through The Official Commemorative Philatelic Programme of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, register the historic importance of this event for these cities and for Brazil.