Samba takes over Swiss town

Weggis:

Scantily clad Samba dancers and drummers have taken over the usually serene streets of the small lakeside Swiss village of Weggiss, the resort town hosting Brazil's World Cup preparations. Local residents mingled with Brazilian fans for a street parade following Weggis' inauguration of a 5,000-seat arena built to accommodate the Brazilian national team. "This is just fantastic, you wouldn't see anything like this in Switzerland if it weren't for the Brazilians," said 42-year-old Rolf Leeb, a resident of nearby Lucerne who said he extended his vacation just so he could see the Brazilians. Local children dressed in yellow-and-green jerseys waved Brazilian flags during the festivities to inaugurate the arena where Brazil will train before heading to Germany to defend its World Cup title. Even parachuters participated in the celebration to welcome the Brazilians. All 45,000 tickets put on sale for Brazil's training sessions - which begin Wednesday afternoon a€" have been sold. Brazil picked Weggis after some 40 offers from around the world, including from locations in France and the United Arab Emirates. Brazil will play two friendlies in Switzerland before leaving for Germany - against FC Lucerne on May 30 in Basel and against New Zealand in Geneva on June 4. The defending champion will open the World Cup against Croatia on June 13, and then face Australia and Japan. (AP)