Chilly Ipswich gains 'portal' to Brazilian beach

A "portal" that provides a real-time visual link from a chilly town to other destinations across the world has just added a Brazilian beach to its output.

Last year, Ipswich saw a portal installed on Cornhill which features a two-way, live feed linking to similar portals in Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, the US, the Philippines and now Barra Grande in tropical northern Brazil.

It means people can see each other - and wave to each other - from thousands of miles away.

Neil Ball and his wife Ana, who comes from São Paolo and has been in the UK for almost 30 years, said it was "fantastic and amazing" to see the beach in her homeland from her adopted home in Suffolk.

The link to the sandy Brazilian beach, in Piauí state, arrived just after 13:00 GMT on Saturday - an afternoon when Ipswich was experiencing a mixture of sunshine, cold rain and hailstones.

The installation was part of the Digital Ipswich programme, which was delivered by Ipswich Borough Council with financial support from the government's Towns Fund.

At the opening of the Ipswich to Brazil portal, Ana Ball said: "I was so pleased Brazil was included in this - it's so nice you see the seaside in Brazil.

"It's lovely to be on the map, now - for everyone to see."

Her husband added: "I come here and I wave at people and it's nice to see people wave back.

"It's a brilliant thing Ipswich has got it."

Comparing the chilly climate in Ipswich with the "very nice climate" in northern Brazil, Daryl Hutchings, from Portals Organisation, said he thought Brazilian viewers were "going to love" Ipswich.

"The whole point of the portals project is improving human connection... so it's going to be nice to have them connected to here and the other cities around the world."

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