As Rio de Janeiro gears up for the glitz and glam of the World Cup, its hillside slums, or favelas, have got a colourful makeover.

Volunteers joined residents to paint around the area of Santa Marta in a project sponsored by the paint company, Coral.

Residents of the favelas face health and safety risks every day posed by untreated waste, spliced power cables and unregulated construction.

They are often run by drug gangs.

One Santa Marta resident says the painting project has been good for the community.

"It's improved a lot. NO one cared about the favela and now because of this project from Coral, you can see a lot of improvements here."

Around 600,000 foreign tourists are expected to pour into Brazil for the World Cup.

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