Copa America hosted by Venezuela

Hundreds of volunteers took part in the opening ceremony

The South American football tournament, the Copa America, has kicked off in Venezuela with a colourful opening ceremony in the city of San Cristobal.

A huge fireworks display and dancers dressed in Venezuelan national colours marked the start of the competition, held in Venezuela for the first time.

The inauguration was attended by President Hugo Chavez and his Bolivian counterpart, Evo Morales.

The Copa America football title is currently held by Brazil.

After the opening ceremony, the first match between the hosts and Bolivia ended in a 2-2 draw.

In the second match, in Merida, Peru beat Uruguay 3-0.

During the three-week tournament 12 teams will play in nine different cities.

Interest increasing

The BBC's James Ingham in Caracas says Venezuela has only ever won one match in the Copa America - 40 years ago. Baseball is generally considered the national sport here.

Young Venezuelans are keen to pick up football skills

But interest in football is slowly increasing in the country. The national team is starting to perform better and more teams are playing in the top league, our correspondent says.

Venezuela is keen to show it can compete and host a successful tournament. In total, £1bn has been spent on infrastructure projects, with three new stadiums and others improved.

Off the pitch there is the possibility that politics could interfere, our correspondent says.

Venezuela has been troubled lately with protests sparked by a decision not to renew the terrestrial broadcast licence for an openly critical TV station.

The government has responded to threats by students to step up their campaign by banning demonstrations near any of the venues.