Short answer: probably not.

In the build up to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, there have been frequent protests about the expense of the stadia, fears of crime sprees, concerns over safety of stadia as well as a number of other topics favoured by nay-sayers. However, it is assessed that once the World Cup begins, the spirit of the sport will unite the masses with football fever. Much like the catastrophic predictions preceding the Summer Games of 2012 and Winter Games 2014, sensationalism sells newspaper and on both of those occasions, the populations pulled together and celebrated the occasion rather than take issue to spoil it.

This is not to say there won’t be the occasional violent event outside a stadium or that street robberies won’t occur, but it is assessed that it won’t happen with a greater frequency or severity at any other time in Brazil or at other large scale sporting events.

It is important to note that Brazil is a big with a lot of people (ranked fifth for both land mass and population) therefore it is foolish to assume there is a homogenous security environment. Not only will the situation vary significantly by city but by neighbourhood, time of day, and security presences as well so the best defence will be an awareness of the immediate situation and the avoidance of trouble.  When angry crowds start forming leave, avoid dark areas with no escape routes, know the emergency phone numbers, don’t carry valuable possessions in the open at night, and always have spare currency separate from your wallet just in case the worst should happen.  The best policy is always to stay out of trouble rather than trying to figure your way out of it.

Please stay tuned to our blog as we keep you up to date on events in Brazil. If you would like to know more about the security environment in Brazil, we will be posting detailed assessments of each host city, please see the details for the São Paulo for the first game between Brazil and Croatia: https://msrisk.com/world-cup/sao-paulo-travel-advisory/

Let the games begin!!