FIFA announces locations for World Cup fan viewing events

Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro and Dubai Harbour in the United Arab Emirates are among six locations worldwide that stage fan festivals during the World Cup in Qatar.

Mexico City’s Plaza de la República, Sao Paulo’s Anhangabaú Valley, and downtown nightclub venues in London and Seoul, South Korea, also will host official game viewing parties and music events.

Organisers have also hired electronic music events from Saudi Arabia and England to perform during the tournament.

The events will “only be open to consumers of legal drinking age” at the venues co-organized by FIFA and long-time World Cup sponsor AB InBev, which brews the Budweiser, Corona and Brahma brands.

Entry to some events will be free and some will have an entry charge, FIFA said in a statement on Monday.

FIFA also revealed more details of music events planned in Qatar during the November 20-December 18 tournament.

The electronic music festival Aravia, run by a Saudi Arabian events organizer, will be staged at a 5,500-capacity site at Al Wakrah.

The Arcadia Spectacular event, staging DJs beneath a fire-breathing, giant metal spider structure, has been a feature of the storied Glastonbury music and culture summer festival in England. It will be on a 15,000-capacity site at nearby Ras Bu Fontas, also close to Doha’s new international airport next to the Persian Gulf.

Qatari World Cup officials and the music promoters have not detailed ticket prices for their World Cup shows.

The main fan festival site for watching the 64 tournament games is at Al Bidda Park on the southern tip of the Corniche waterfront.

Qatar has relaxed some restrictions on where and when alcohol can be consumed in the emirate so that AB InBev beers can be sold at official fan parties and game viewing areas.