Belo Horizonte
Belo Horizonte is the capital of Minas Gerais state, located in the southeastern region of Brazil. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the country. Belo Horizonte has a population of almost 2.4 million and over 5.3 million in the official Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte.
The first settlements in the region occurred in the early 1700s, but the city as it is known today was planned and constructed in the 1890s, in order to replace Ouro Preto as the capital of Minas Gerais. It is nowadays well known for the contrast between contemporary and classical buildings, being in fact the location of many modern Brazilian architectural icons, most notably the Pampulha Church.
The city offers interesting leisure areas, theatres boasting an intense artistic-cultural production, good and varied cuisine, exquisite handcrafts available on the markets and specialised shops, and maintains a traditional characteristic: the typical regional hospitality. Economic development has been proceeding through the professionalisation of many different tourism segments, above all the areas of events and business.
The Confins International Airport connects Belo Horizonte with many Brazilian cities and also operates international flights.
The city is home to the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
Stadium: Mineirão
Estádio Mineirão (meaning Big Mineiro Stadium), officially Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto (Governor Magalhães Pinto Stadium) established in 1965 after Governor Magalhães Pinto, is the largest football stadium in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil.
On February 25, 1960, the government of the Union and the Federal University of Minas Gerais gave Minas Gerais land in the neighborhood of Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, for the construction of the stadium.
The Mineirão was planned by Eduardo Mendes Guimarães Júnior and Caspar Garreto, both architects. The structural project was undertaken by engineer Arthur Eugênio Jermann. The construction workmanship was directed by engineer Gil Cesar Moreira de Abreu. From 1963 to the date of its inauguration on September 5, 1965, approximately five thousand people were involved in the construction.
The festivities marking the opening of the stadium included parachute jumpers, music, and an inaugural football match. The events were attended by 73,201 people. The inaugural match at Mineirão Stadium was played by the Minas Gerais state team and the Argentinian team, River Plate.