Rio de Janeiro
Price R$120
Min age 0
Rating 4.72 / 5 [205 ratings]
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Rio de Janeiro , Southeastern Region, Brazil
Credit Shutterstock.com/Migel
Every year on the weekend before Shrove Tuesday, Rio throws the world’s boldest and brashest party – Carnaval. There are events throughout the city, from huge bloco samba-swinging street parties (including in Ipanema, Copacabana, the City Centre and Santa Teresa), to balls in the Copacabana Palace.
The main spectacle is undoubtedly the famous samba schools’ parade which takes place in the Sambódromo – a purpose-built arena in the city centre. This all-night kaleidoscope of gargantuan floats, sequinned samba dancers, drummers and scantily clad carnival queens, leaves the senses reeling. Unmissable.
Samba is to Rio what salsa is to Colombia – and the city is home to dozens of samba schools, divided into five leagues. The best of these enter floats into the Sambódromo carnival parade. Each school chooses a theme for their annual entry, makes all its own themed floats and costumes and composes and choreographs a samba song.
The twelve top-ranked schools – the ‘Special Group’ – parade on the Sunday and Monday nights of carnival weekend; six performing each night between dusk and dawn. The next ranked twelve schools – the ‘Access Group’ – all parade on the preceding Saturday night.
As the schools parade through the arena one by one, they are marked by a panel of 40 judges for the quality of their show, in categories including choreography, music, dancing and theme.
The lowest-ranked samba school in the ‘Special Group’ is usually relegated to the ‘Access Group’ for the following year and the top-ranked school in the Access Group is promoted.
The main all-night parades take place on the Sunday and Monday nights in the Sambódromo arena; it’s a straight parade route through the centre of the arena, with grandstand stadium seating on either side. The Sambódromo is accessible by metro (stop at Praça Onze, then just follow the crowds); the metro runs 24/7 during Carnival. Other festivities (bloco street parades and baile balls) take place across the city, and everyone is welcome to join in.
Tickets are readily available from the main festival website or reputable tour operators. The best seats sell out fast, so book well in advance. There’s a lot to take in, so if you’ve got the funds, book the covered luxury seats with central position and elevated views. The open-air camarotes (front boxes) are closer to the action, but you miss seeing the magical overview. The more authentic, local experience is above the boxes in grandstand seating – big concrete steps with no assigned seating except in grandstand sector 9, whose seats are numbered automatically just before the event).
The biggest street party takes place on Cinelândia Square in Rio’s Centro. However, note that the crowds in the street parades (but not in the Sambódromo) are vast and can be overwhelming. Also keep a close eye on your belongings at Carnival – pickpocketing is rife. Keep cameras discreet and use a money belt or pouch.
Samba schools allow foreigners to join their parades; though they require rehearsal beforehand and you will need to purchase an official costume. For details, see the Samba Parade section on the Carnival website.
The festival always begins on the Friday prior to Shrove Tuesday, and finishes officially on Shrove Tuesday itself (though there are still parties and parades the following weekend), so it can start as early as 3rd February or as late as 9th March.
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