Sports in Salvador de Bahia
Situated on Brazil's north eastern coast, in the state of Bahia, Salvador is famous as the 'capital of happiness' of Brazil because of its parties and carnivals. It is the capital of Bahia and ranks third in regards with the population of the country. This wealthy metropolitan city is noteworthy for its art, architecture and food. More than four- fifths of the population here has origins from the Black Africans, which consequently has affected the culture of the city. This is the reason for the other name given to the city - 'Roma Negra' which means Black Rome in Portuguese. The city's historic centre, often known as Pelourinho (pillories), was acknowledged as the world heritage site in 1985 by UNESCO due to its gorgeous and plush monuments and historic buildings from 17th and 19th century.
It is situated on a triangle peninsula in the water of Atlantic Ocean. It has a native, innate harbour making the city one of the key trading centre due to its huge volumes of export and import. Its agriculture and industrial activities are also well developed. The topography of the area varies from mountains, hills to plains. The city experiences tropical climate with good amount of rainfall and tropical rainforests. The coastline boasts of an array of varied features like the beaches, swamps, islands and resorts. Famous as the second top tourist destination of the country, Salvador's economy flourishes mainly due to its tourism industry and cultural activities which helps in the preservation of art and culture heritage. Salvador de Bahia's carnival is branded and famous as the biggest party on the earth and is even registered in the Guinness book of world records. Millions of people celebrate the festival all over the streets in the city.
The city's coastline is one of the longest in the country, which extends to about 50km of exquisite, attractive, beautiful and pristine beaches. The bay, calm and serene at places, provides opportunities for water sports like swimming, sailing, underwater fishing and diving, and some areas with strong and powerful waves are a delight for surfers. Various other sports prospects are also provided by the city. The Fonte Nova stadium, opened on 28th of January in the year 1951 in the city, has capacity to seat 66,080 people. This football stadium was previously known as Estadio Octavio Mangabeira. The two major teams of the city - Esporte Clube Vitoria and Esporte Clube Bahia have won laurels for the city in football in three national championships.
The city is also one of the contenders for the 2014 FIFA World Cup to be held in Brazil, out of 18 others. There are two big golf courses in the city with the facilities of instructors, equipments and instruments and caddies available on rent. Another popular sport is tennis for which many tournaments are organised by various clubs. Country's most prestigious tournament, Brazil Open, happens here every year. The city is a strangely incredible combination of various cultural groups and its preservation of past heritage along with the new developments is a matchless experience for the onlookers.
