Thousands take to streets over cost of Brazil's World Cup

Protests by a quarter of a million people have swept Brazil as demonstrators express their anger over the amount of money being invested in the World Cup and an increase in bus fares.

After days of demonstrations, described as "legitimate" by Dilma Rousseff, Brazil's president, activists demonstrated in more than a dozen cities, including those hosting matches at next year's football tournament, which is estimated to cost 10 billion pounds.

In scenes rarely seen in Brazil since the fall of the dictatorship in 1985, crowds took to the streets, carrying placards reading: "World Cup for Who?" and "We don't need the World Cup". President Rousseff responded with sympathy for the protesters.

"Today, Brazil woke up stronger," she said. "The greatness of yesterday's demonstrations proved the power of democracy. "This message direct from the streets is for more citizenship, for better schools, hospitals, health centres, for more participation. My generation knows how much the freedom to protest costs."

She added that the government was listening to the calls for change. More protests, which have coincided with the start of the Confederations Cup football tournament, were expected to take place on Thursday, with up to a million people likely to take part. "Everybody is extremely dissatisfied with the way things are going," said Theresa Williamson, director of CatComm, an organisation that campaigns for housing rights in Rio de Janeiro.

"We were told, 'We're not investing in things because we don't have resources' and then all of a sudden, the resources are there. It's about equality and mobility, in all senses. I don't think there's been anything on this scale for 20 years.

" The catalyst was the rise in bus fares of around 6p, which was announced in January, but postponed until later this year. The increase was to pay for improvements to the buses, including air-conditioning and disabled access ramps for the World Cup. The cities of Porto Alegre and Cuiaba have reportedly suggested they will lower the fare in a proposal unlikely to dampen the movement. Authorities in Pernambuco also indicated they will lower fares. When protests in Sao Paulo were met with armoured police using tear gas and rubber bullets, public support flared and more demonstrations were organised.

About 5,000 people turned out in the country's capital Brasilia, home to the new 440 million pounds Mane Garrincha stadium, where the Confederations Cup began on Saturday. In Sao Paulo, 65,000 filled the main roads of the country's biggest city, with protesters camping outside the governor's palace until the early hours. There were also confrontations between the police and 10,000 protesters in Porto Alegre.

In Rio de Janeiro a small element out of the 100,000 crowd tried to breach the legislative assembly building, overturning and setting fire to a car, and smashing shop windows. About 30 protesters and five police officers were injured.