By Barry Moody
Harare, Zimbabwe - Brazil's Samba Boys brought joy to long-suffering Zimbabwe on Wednesday, prompting euphoria on the streets as they arrived to play a World Cup warm-up match.
Zimbabwe has been tormented by a decade of economic collapse, political crisis and violence and good news has been rare.
Until this week its dream of some benefit - especially tourist revenue - from the World Cup in neighbouring South Africa had been dashed.
Then Brazil, one of the favourites to win the biggest trophy in football, agreed to come to Harare for a match against Zimbabwe and the excitement was palpable with everybody from passport officials to hotel bellboys saying they would attend.
The 60 000-capacity national stadium, refurbished recently by China, is sold out but even fans without tickets poured into the area in the hope of getting in.
Ticket prices, at $10 (R77), are triple the normal rate.
A traffic jam built up on the road to the stadium, on the edge of the capital, more than two hours before the 3.30pm kickoff.
Government offices and schools declared a half-day holiday to allow people to see the match which local media suggested was a favour from Brazil's President Lula da Silva to Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe, long ostracised in the West for what is seen as his brutal repression of political opposition and rigging of elections in 2008.
The match was front page news in Zimbabwe's newspapers, usually exclusively devoted to political and economic events.
Staff at Harare's exclusive Meikles hotel said it was full for the first time since 2008.
A long political impasse after the disputed result of the elections was finally broken by the formation of a power-sharing government with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in 2009.
Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, however, is still considered to hold real power in the country with control of the police and army.
Sports Minister David Coltart, from the MDC, said: "This is the biggest sporting event ever in Zimbabwe. It is a unique opportunity to rebrand Zimbabwe."
The fans have adopted South Africa's noisy vuvuzela trumpets, sounding them incessantly long before the match and many wearing Brazilian colours. In one corner of the stands Zimbabweans held up a banner reading "Welcome Brazil". - Reuters