Organization rules out the risk of a blackout at World Cup games

02/08/2014 - 20h59

The possibility of a blackout in stadiums that will host World Cup games, starting June 12, has been ruled out.

This, at least, is a guarantee from the COL, the Organizing Committee of the World Cup. The stadiums that will host matches will all be equipped with generators.

"At the Stadiums, areas considered essential like the Press Room, Media Center and Television Broadcasting, among others, have primary energy supply through generators amd are therefore immune to problems with the installed network. This way, we have no reason to express any concern about possible disruptions in the power supply network for the World Cup", said the COL via its press office.

"The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Mines and Energy, is thoroughly integrated with FIFA and the COL on the issue of energy planning for the World Cup. The ministry has integrated planning and commitments established with all the utilities that serve the host sites to ensure the supply of energy to the arenas and key locations during the event, such as the IBC [International Broadcasting Center] and airports", the organizing committee added.

According to Caio Campos, Corinthians marketing manager who will manage Itaquerão stadium, which will host, among other games, the World Cup opening, the obligation of stadiums to have generators is not unique to Brazil. "It's one of their [Fifa's] concerns. Not just here, because the games are broadcast to millions of viewers and nothing can fail," explained the director. "I think we're over 99% secured against the possibility of a problem like this occuring during the World Cup."

According to Campos, Itaquerão has two inputs for generators, which are serviced by two different networks.

The same is happening at Maracanã (site of the closing game). With two different networks supplying power to the stadium, the chance of a blackout is virtually cleared.

According to Odebrecht, managers of not only the stadium in Rio de Janeiro but also the Fonte Nova and Pernambuco Arena, all areas have generators capable of keeping their structures running in the event of a power outage. The same goes for the Dunas Arena in Natal.

The builder points out that last year, during a match between Náutico and Sport, there was a blackout in the Northeastern region but the Pernambuco Arena was not affected.