By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – On Saturday, July 26th, one hundred couples were wed at the Estádio Nacional de Brasília Mané Garrincha, in Brasília, marking the first official event in the stadium following the seven World Cup matches held there during the tournament and the first collective wedding ceremony held at the site.
Complete with an altar, cakes, flowers, live music and a red carpet, the civil marriages were performed in the stadium’s Hospitality room. Previous to the collective ceremony, however, the one hundred soon-to-be brides walked across the stadium’s pitch to pose for photographs.
“The stadium is multipurpose. It is a multipurpose arena. Collective marriages here have been a great idea of Sejus (the Department of Justice, Human Rights and Citizenship of the Federal District) and an idea that we support,” Secretary of the Cup, Claudio Monteiro told O Globo.
Adding; “The Governor [of the Federal District Governor of Brasilia] Agnelo [Queiroz] approved the wedding. Now pretty much the brides are the first people to set foot on the lawn post-World Cup. So, it will be lucky. We will begin another round of football [soccer] soon.”
The event was the tenth edition of the Alma Gêmea (Soul Mate), a project sponsored by the Department of Justice, Human Rights and Citizenship DF (SEJUS). Established in 2012, the project has thus far wed a reported 650 couples. The project prefers to host the collective weddings in well known locations.
“We consistently find tourist points for the events and there is nothing better after the World Cup than using the newest tourist property in the city,” Assistant Secretary of SEJUS, Amanda Wanderley told O Globo. The previous edition of the Alma Gêmea collective wedding ceremony took place in Brasília’s Parque da Cidade and wed 150 couples.
Read more (in Portuguese).
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