The Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS) is imaging similar to 9300 deg(2) of the celestial sphere in 12 optical bands using a dedicated 0.8mrobotic telescope, the T80-South, at the Cerro Tololo Inter-american Observatory, Chile. The telescope is equipped with a 9.2k x 9.2k e2v detector with 10 mu m pixels, resulting in a field of view of 2 deg(2) with a plate scale of 0.55 arcsec pixel-1. The survey consists of four main subfields, which include two non-contiguous fields at high Galactic latitudes (vertical bar b vertical bar > 30 degrees, 8000 deg(2)) and two areas of the Galactic Disc and Bulge (for an additional 1300 deg(2)). S-PLUS uses the Javalambre 12-band magnitude system, which includes the 5 ugriz broad-band filters and 7 narrow-band filters centred on prominent stellar spectral features: the Balmer jump/[OII], Ca H + K, Hd, G band, Mg b triplet, H alpha, and the Ca triplet. S-PLUS delivers accurate photometric redshifts (dz /(1 + z) = 0.02 or better) for galaxies with r < 19.7 AB mag and z < 0.4, thus producing a 3D map of the local Universe over a volume of more than 1 (Gpc/h)(3). The final S-PLUS catalogue will also enable the study of star formation and stellar populations in and around the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, as well as searches for quasars, variable sources, and low-metallicity stars. In this paper we introduce the main characteristics of the survey, illustrated with science verification data highlighting the unique capabilities of S-PLUS. We also present the first public data release of similar to 336 deg(2) of the Stripe 82 area, in 12 bands, to a limiting magnitude of r = 21, available at datalab.noao.edu/splus.Brazil, Chile (Universidad de La Serena); Spain (Centro de Estudios de Fisica del Cosmos de Aragon, CEFCA); Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico (CNPq)National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) [312333/2014-5, 306968/2014-2, 142436/2014-3, 459553/2014-3, 400738/2014-7, 302037/2015-2, 312307/2015-2, 300336/2016-0, 304184/2016-0, 304971/2016-2]; FAPESPFundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [2009/54202-8, 2011/51680-6, 2014/07684-5, 2014/11806-9, 2014/13723-3, 2014/18632-6, 2016/17119-9, 2016/12331-0, 2016/21532-9, 2016/21664-2, 2016/23567-4, 2017/01461-2, 2017/23766-0, 2018/02444-7, 2018/21661-9]; Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES)CAPES [88881.030413/2013-01, 88881.156185/2017-01]; Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ)Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) [02.876/2015, 202.835/2016, 203.186/2016]; Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP)Ciencia Tecnologia e Inovacao (FINEP) [1217/13-01.13.0279.00, 0859/10-01.10.0663.00]; Direccion de Investigacion y Desarrollo de la Universidad de La Serena (DIDULS/ULS) [PR16143, PTE16146]; Direccion de Investigacion y Desarrollo de la Universidad de La Serena (Programa de Investigadores Asociados); Direccion de Postgrado y Postitulo; Physics Frontier Center for the Evolution of the Elements (JINA-CEE) through the US National Science Foundation [PHY 14-30152]; Southern Office of Aerospace Research and development (SOARD) of the Air Force Office of the Scientific Research International Office of the United States (AFOSR/IO) [FA9550-15-1-0167, FA9550-18-1-0018]; Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) I-COOP + 2016 program [COOPB20263]; Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness (MINECO) [AYA2013-48623-C2-1-P, AYA2016-81065-C2-1-P]; Direccion General de Asuntos del Personal Academico of the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (DGAPA-UNAM) through Programa de Becas Posdoctorales en la UNAM; Alfred P. Sloan FoundationAlfred P. Sloan Foundation; National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF); U.S. Department of Enenergy; National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNational Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA); Japanese MonbukagakushoMinistry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan (MEXT); Max Planck SocietyMax Planck Society; Higher Education Funding Council for EnglandHigher Education Funding Council for England; American Museum of Natural History; Astrophysical Institute Potsdam; University of Basel; University of CambridgeUniversity of Cambridge; Case Western Reserve University; University of ChicagoUniversity of Chicago; Drexel University; Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics; Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology; Korean Scientist Group; Chinese Academy of Sciences (LAMOST)Chinese Academy of Sciences; Los Alamos National LaboratoryUnited States Department of Energy (DOE)Los Alamos National Laboratory; Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy (MPIA); Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics (MPA); New Mexico State University; Ohio State UniversityOhio State University; University of PittsburghUniversity of Pittsburgh; University of Portsmouth; Princeton UniversityPrinceton University; United States Naval Observatory; University of WashingtonUniversity of Washington; Fermilab; Institute for Advanced StudyInstitute for Advanced Study; Japan Participation GroupSloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS); Johns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University;[401669/2016-5];[308968/2016-6];[309456/2016-9];[421687/2016-9];[150237/2017-0];[311331/2017-3];[304819/2017-4];[200289/2017-9]This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. 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