FORTALEZA, Dec 15: President Dilma Rousseff travels on Sunday to the northeastern city of Fortaleza to inaugurate the first Brazilian stadium readied for the 2014 World Cup, an arena built in part by using prison labour.

With its 67,000-seat capacity, the renovated arena, ringed by metallic structures that look like sails floating in the wind, is one of six which will host next June’s Confederations Cup and the World Cup a year later.

Other Brazilian host cities for the Confederations Cup are Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Salvador, Recife and Rio.

Six other Brazilian cities: Cuiaba, Curitiba, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo will host World Cup games as well.

Sunday, Rousseff will grace the inauguration of the Castelao (big castle) arena with her presence. A concert will follow.

“The sea culture is very much present in the state of Ceara.It is the second destination in the world for kite-surfing fans after Spain,” said Ferruccio Feitosa, the state official responsible for the World Cup.

The stadium is virtually completed, with workers putting the finishing touches on access to the facility.

Fortaleza thus meets deadlines set by football’s world governing body FIFA.

A first test event will be organised before next April 15 for the six host arenas for the Confederations Cup.The six will have to provide guarantees that they will be ready when the draw is held on Dec 6 next year for the World Cup, scheduled to take place from June 12 to July 13, 2014.

The arena here has three restaurants, an auditorium that can be converted into a movie theatre and a football museum.

On Jan 27, it will be the first of the 12 World Cup host stadiums to stage a sporting event, a tournament fielding four Brazilian teams: Recife, Fortaleza, Ceara and Bahia.—AFP