The eyes of the world are on Brazil as the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Sao Paulo.
Watch this report on how Irish Brazillian people are looking forward to tonight's kick-off.
Fans and stadium workers, some wearing colourful hats and costumes, have been arriving in the city for the first of the tournament's 64 matches, which sees host nation Brazil take on Croatia tonight.
However, the build-up to the month-long tournament has been tainted by protests taking place across the country.
Over $11bn has already been spent on hosting the tournament, despite several delays in building and updating infrastructure.
The atmosphere is subdued in Sao Paulo, with graffiti attacking FIFA and Brazilian politicians highlighting anger over poor public services.
Police in the business city earlier fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets to break up an anti-World Cup protest.
Dozens of protesters gathered near a subway station and said they plan to march as close as possible to Corinthians Arena, the city's World Cup stadium.
Many feel the money spent on building stadiums in small towns should have instead been invested in updating hospitals, schools and other essential infrastructure.
In Rio de Janeiro alone, over 1.4 million people live in slums.
These 'favelas' are notorious for their vast areas of bare-brick shacks, open sewers and garbage heaps and are often run by drug gangs.
Like shanty towns elsewhere, Rio's favelas emerged as a result of inequality and erratic development.
RTÉ's Glenn Mason previews the tournament from Brazil.
