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Carnival (Carnaval) 2008 in Rio de Janeiro

Next Carnaval Dates:  Carnaval 2006 - Febrruary 25-28 Carnaval 2007 - February 17-20 Carnaval 2008 - February 2-5 Carnaval 2009 - February 21-24 Carnaval 2010 - February 13-16 Carnaval 2011 - March 5-8 Carnaval 2012 - February 18-21 Carnaval 2013 - February 9-12 Carnaval 2014 - March 1-4 Carnaval 2015 - February 14-17 Carnaval 2016 - February 6-9 Carnaval 2017 - February 25-28 Carnaval 2018 - February 10-13 Carnaval 2019 - March 2-5 Carnaval 2020 - February 22-25

The Carnival is a national holiday in Brazil, from Friday night to the following Wednesday noon. Most Brazilians continue the holiday until the following Monday, a total of 10 days. While many Rio habitants leave the city for quiet places, many tourists (including Brazilians) arrive Rio to participate in the  Carnival celebrations.

The carnival parades are taking place in the Sambodromo, located close to the city center. The parades start at 20:00 or 21:00 (depending on the date) and ends around 4:00 in the morning. There are several parades in Rio's  Sambodromo:

SAMBA SCHOOLS PARADES during Caarnival

Friday - Junior and Group B Samba Schools

Junior Samba Schools
These are branches of the big schools constituted by children of each community.

Group B Samba Schools
Also called base groups, as they are the popular bases from which the big schools originated. These are small schools with up to 1,500 participants. The champion of this parade ascends to Group A next year, while the looser of Group A will join Group B next year.

Saturday -  GROUP A = Grupo de Acesso A

There are 10 large and important schools that parade on Saturday with costumes and allegoric cars. The champion of this parade ascends to the Special Group next year, while the looser of the main parades will join Group A next year.
It is relatively easy to purchase tickets at the official price to this parade. We recommend watching this parade even if you intend to see the main parades. 

Sunday and Monday - Special Group - Main parades

A total of 12 Samba schools parade on Sunday and Monday. (Until Carnival 2007, the number of Samba schools was 13, and was reduced from 2008).
This is the REAL show, and as such, tickets are mainly sold in the black market at a premium price. Before you purchase a ticket, read the Sambodromo info. be careful from purchasing faked tickets...

Saturday after the Carnival - Champions Saturday = Winners Parade.

The Samba Schools winners of the Special Group, from Sunday and Monday, parade on Saturday after the Carnival. This parade is not as good as the Main parades, as part of the participants in the original parade do not re-appear. Official tickets are sold at half price of the Special group tickets. However, you may be charged the black market price. We recommend to avoid this parade, unless if you can't afford the parades on Sunday or Monday.

The participants of the Carnival in March 2004 predicted that the price of the oil will go up several months later ...;-) Click the picture to enlarge it. The building at the back is Sector 2 - See Sambodromo info. See additional Photos of Carnival 2004, 2005 and 2006.

PARTICIPANTS IN THE CARNIVAL PARADES

The schools belonging to the Special Group are affiliated to the Independent League of Samba schools in Rio (LIESA). Each school has approx. 5,000 participants including celebrated Brazilian show-business and jet-set personalities.

Samba Schools Rehearsals:

Everyone can attend the rehearsals that take place in weekends. The most popular samba school is Mangueira who receives up to 10,000 visitors on Saturdays. The entrance fee varies between 10 to 30 R$.

Mangueira - Rua Visconde de Niteroi 1072 - Mangueira - Tel: 3872- 6786/2567.4637

Salgueiro - Rua Silva Teles, 104 - Andarai - Phone: 2288-3065 - Saturdays from 22:00 hours

Unidos da Tijuca - Rua Sao Miguel430 - Tijuca - Phone 2263-9836 - Saturdays

Imperio Serrano. Avenida Ministro Edgard Romero, 114, Madureira, 2489-8722 or 2489-5696. Saturdays from 23:00 hours

Portela. Rua Clara Nunes, 81, Madureira, 2489-6440. Fridays from 23:00 hours

Vila Isabel. Avenida Boulevard Vinte e Oito de Setembro, nº 382, Vila Isabel, 2578-0077 or 2576-4120. Saturdays from 22:00 hours

Other schools (check availability in the web site):

Beija-Flor  , Caprichosos de Pilares , Grande Rio , Mocidade

Porto da Pedra , Rocinha , Viradouro, Imperatriz Leopoldinense

Technical rehearsals 2007-2008 (Free):

Starting from December, the samba schools will have additional technical rehearsals at the Sambodromo (where the Carnival parade takes place). These rehearsals can be watched from the tier of seats and entrance is free of charge. Many local people arrive to these rehearsals, and it becomes very crowded. We will update the following tables soon...

PRICE Indications

Carnaval 2007 - Prices for the Tourist Sector
The ticket prices for the tourist sectors for the 2007 Carnival Parade are listed below. The tickets are only available out of Brazil through travel agents. The prices in Brazil for these sectors are normally much higher.

Sector 9
R$ 500,00, a day - Sunday and Monday
R$ 250,00 - Champions’ Saturday .

Sector 7
R$ 290,00, a day - Sunday and Monday
R$ 145,00 - Champions” Saturday.

Sector 9 – Front open air boxes
Rows B,C and D
R$ 5.600,00, a day - Sunday and Monday
R$ 2.800,00 - Champions’ Saturday

“A “ Group Samba Schools - Saturday
Sector 7 and 9 – Stands : R$ 30,00
Front open air boxes
Rows B,C and D : R$ 600,00.

 

Street price indications in R$ (Brazilian Real) - 2006 parades

See how the carnival parade carts are mounted

It happens only 4 days a year - On the day of the carnival parade, the carts are mounted near the Sambodromo. It is an interesting experience to see how it is done.

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