World Cup stadium that cost £217m to build is now almost abandoned after hosting weddings to 'make ends meet'

A historic World Cup stadium that cost a breathtaking amount of money to build is nearly completely abandoned after it was forced to host weddings.

Over a decade ago, the 2014 World Cup took place across the iconic football nation of Brazil, with 12 new venues hosting matches in the most famous competition in the sport.

The Arena de Amazonia in Manaus was just one of the stadiums that had the privilege of hosting four matches during the tournament, including England's 2-1 defeat to Italy.

It also hosted several matches during the 2016 Olympic Games hosted in Brazil but now, 11 years later, the 44,300 seater ground is almost completely abandoned, with local reports claiming that it is even used for weddings just to make ends meet.

The Arena Amazonia was built for the 2014 Brazil World Cup. (Image: Getty)

The Arena de Amazonia took four years to build and became famous for being the most difficult World Cup venue to get to for travelling fans as it is in the middle of the Amazon rainforest.

Building the stadium cost Brazil an incredible £217million and tragically led to three people losing their lives.

But now, it lies mostly unused, occasionally hosting local matches involving teams from Manaus that draw in crowds of less than 1,000 people, far below the stadium capacity.

Since the World Cup and Olympic Games, the stadium has also hosted several Evangelical Christian events, and a Guns N' Roses concert back in 2022.

However, a 2016 report from Spanish outlet El Pais claimed that the stadium isn't just open for concerts, as the Secretary of the State Secretariat for Youth, Sports and Leisure granted decrees that allowed it to host birthdays and weddings.

The report further states that maintaining the stadium was costing around £850,500 a year, but had failed to generate even a third of this cost within the first two years of its existence.

The Arena Amazonia cost 217million to build. (Image: Getty)

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that recent photos of the stadium show that it is in terrible condition compared to the 2014 World Cup, which was won by Germany.

Much of the roofing for the stadium has now been removed, meaning the seating across the stadium has lost nearly all colour due to the harsh sunlight in Manaus.

In order to deal with the issues of maintaining the stadium, Brazilian outlet Correio do Estado recently claimed that shortly before a charity match, it was annoucned that the Arena de Amazonia will officially be sold to the private sector.