Carnival in Brazil: Fantastic!
THE PHOTOS OF UNIQUE BRAZILIAN CARNIVAL

Brazil carnival.

Brazil carnival girls.


Brazil carnival.


Brazil carnival: The Sambodrome, Rio.


Brazil carnival.

Carnival activities around Brazil normally take place from the Friday prior to Ash Wednesday and continue up to and including Ash Wednesday itself. In some cities the celebrations will spill over through the entire week and include the following weekend. Most Brazilian offices and business will close for the week of Carnival in much the same way companies in many parts of the world close between Christmas and the New Year.

One of the traditional highlights of carnival in Rio de Janeiro is the parade of the top samba schools which take place on the Sunday and Monday nights of carnival along the purpose built Passarela do Samba (Sambódromo), located on Avenida Marques de Sapucaí, close to the city centre.Carnival.

Carnival parade in the Sambodrome - Sambódromo -
Organised by the League of Samba Schools and the Rio Tourist Board (Riotur), tickets for the parades can normally be reserved through most good tour operators. Tickets for the grandstand are priced at around US 150 while a six-seater box will cost approximately USD 1,500 .
Carnival in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro .
 
Rio de Janeiro Carnival: Samba School Parade
But the centerpiece of Carnaval in Rio is the Sambódromo, where the grand parades take place.
This huge concrete edifice is located near the old Praça Onze where the first real parades began near the turn of the century. It was designed in 1983 by Oscar Niemeyer, the architect responsible for the design of Brasilia (the capital of Brazil, inaugurated in 1960.) Interestingly, the Sambódromo serves as an elementary school the rest of the year. Officially named the “Passarela de Samba,” it is always referred to as the “Sambódromo” (samba-dervish) or “Sambadrome” by English speaking people. It is so-called, not only for the way the paraders dance there, but in the rapid way it was built, reaching completion in a mere 117 days. It seats 80,000 people and is about a kilometer long. There are speaker embankments at regular intervals located along the length of the passageway, to facilitate hearing the singers and instrumentalists of the groups parading. It ends at the “Praça Apoteose” (Apotheosis Plaza), where the famous arch is.