By Bay City News Service:
With the 2014 World Cup opening match between host country Brazil and Croatia kicking off Thursday afternoon, many Bay Area bars, theaters and viewing events will soon be buzzing with excitement for the premier international soccer tournament that returns to the global stage every four years.
Big screens will be showing Thursday's match at venues including Oakland's New Parkway Theater, with free first-come, first-served seating.
The theater, located at 474 24th St., will open around noon.
A San Francisco theater in Chinatown, the Great Star Theater at 636 Jackson St., will be showing the opening match on a 40-foot screen through an HD projector.
The free screening is provided through freespace, a community events group.
San Francisco residents will get to tune into the action starting Saturday from a Jumbotron displaying matches live at Civic Center Plaza.
The free viewings are presented by the city's Recreation and Park Department in partnership with America SCORES Bay Area and sponsorship from Twitter and Visa.
The first viewing will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday for the Colombia vs. Greece match, followed by Uruguay vs. Costa Rica and ending with England vs. Italy later that day.
More matches will be shown at Civic Center Plaza on Monday, Tuesday, and the next week on June 22 and June 26.
There will be a semifinal match shown on July 9 and the World Cup final will be screened on July 13 at noon.
More information about the screenings is available at www.worldcupsf.com.
In San Jose, hometown Major League Soccter team the Earthquakes are hosting the "Summer of Soccer" viewings starting Saturday with the 9 a.m. Colombia vs. Greece match at Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park.
The viewings continue at the park until Tuesday, with later screenings at St. James Park starting June 21.
The semifinal and final matches will also be shown at St. James Park. The viewing events are free to the public.
At the events, the Earthquakes are offering team memorabilia and there will be live music, food trucks, and restaurant specials.
There will also be a $30 final match viewing party at Gordon Biersch at 357 E. Taylor St. in San Jose.
More information about the events is available at http://www.sjearthquakes.com/summerofsoccer.
Group stage matches involving Mexico and USA will be screened at Vine Cinema & Alehouse in Livermore starting Friday with Mexico vs. Cameroon.
The theater is located at 1722 First St. in Livermore.
The first USA match is on Monday at 3 p.m. against Ghana.
Many sports bars throughout the region will also be screening most of the matches as they continue until the final on July 13.
San Francisco's SOMA StrEAT Food Park will be showing most matches at its outdoor beer garden and permanent food truck gathering at 428 11th St.
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