Lonely Planet listed Brazil as the world’s number one must-visit country of the year, and it’s not just because Rio de Janeiro is the Carnival Capital of the world.

There’s the upcoming FIFA World Cup tournament which runs from 12 June to 13 July.

If you’re into numbers, you’ll be blown-away by these figures from the tournament organisers:

• 32 teams qualified to play in the competition.
• Each participating team will receive at least US$8 million.
• The winning team will receive US$350 million while the runner up will pocket $25 million.
• Teams that lose in round of 16 will get $9 million, and the quarter finalists will each take home $14 million.

The clubs, in which the players are playing for at the time of their World Cup departure, will receive $70 million as compensation for insurance costs and expenses, which will be distributed through their national associations.

Overall, a total of 12 cities including Rio will host the matches.

In terms of audience, it’s expected that more than one billion people will watch the final to be played in Rio de Janeiro, making it the world’s most watched television event in history.
While the Congresso & ExpoFenabrave is not in the same league as the World Cup when it comes to fan frenzy, the players in Brazil’s automotive industry are equally passionate about their favourite sport.

The annual congress is the biggest automotive event in Latin America and the second largest in the world, only trailing the NADA Convention & Expo.
The event is presented by Fenabrave – the National Federation of Motor Vehicles and for two days in August will return to Curitiba – the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Parana.

Organisers expect over 3,500 attendees, including automotive dealers, automotive dealer group representatives, allied industry manufacturers, international guests and senior executives from OEM partners to participate in this year’s event.

The theme for 2014 is Overcoming which according to Flavio Meneghetti, President of Fenabrave, is designed to highlight and confront the many challenges facing Brazil’s automotive industry. ‘Our goal is to improve the industry’s professionalism and profits by addressing the current automotive environment and foreseeing potential problems before they occur,’ Meneghetti said recently.

Flavio Meneghetti will also be one of a number of international guests at this year’s AADA National Dealer Convention in July and he will provide a unique insight into the industry conditions of our equivalent international cousins.

Like our own Convention, the Conference will offer attendees a dynamic, information-and-inspiration-packed agenda, covering after-sales service, accounting, resource management, new technologies and the latest internet marketing strategies.

The Congresse’s trade show ExpoFenabrave will be the launching platform for some of the world’s newest vehicle releases including SUVs, passenger cars, light commercials, trucks, buses, motorcycles, road making machines, tractors and agricultural equipment.

The trade show is also where many of Brazil’s allied industry suppliers present, demonstrate and market their latest dealer-centric products and services.
Founded in 1965, Fenabrave boasts over 7,000 members across all automotive segments and is affiliated with 48 international and local automotive brands.

The automotive sector accounts for over 5.7 per cent of Brazil’s domestic GDP and generates almost 400,000 jobs across the country.