Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro Carnival is called the greatest show on erth. It's orgins are said to come from europe, where carnival festivities comprised mostly of balls & masquerade parties. the modern day brazilian carnival has evolved to include native American and African culture in its celebration.

Rio de Janeiro Carnival is a wild 4-day celebration. Year after year it starts on Saturday and ends on Fat Tuesday. It normally takes place in February, which is right in the middle of Summer and Brazil's hottest month. For Brazilians, Carnival is a celebration to let loose and release their inhibitions before Ash Wednesday. Rio Carnival mainly consists of the Samba Parade, Scala Balls, & Street Parties. See below to see a description of each.

The parade of samba:

If you are in Rio for Carnival, Samba Parade is one of the event you can not miss. It takes place in a special venue, a stadium of 70,000 seats Samba built in 1984 and located near downtown Rio. The samba parade is actually a contest of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro. Each Samba School represents a local neighborhood. Each year, each school chooses a different theme for the parade of samba and the preparations are made months ahead of time. It's a huge production like the samba schools have to mobilize thousands of participants, create a theme and music, design and build floats and costumes and choreograph the production. The end result is the greatest show on earth and experience to remember for the rest of your life!

Carnival Balls:

Carnival Balls are themed parties that take place every night during Carnival. A true Carnival Ball features live Samba music. Tickets to these balls range from $US 40 to over US$ 2,000. The best nights are Friday, Saturday and Tuesday. It is definitely important to choose the correct Ball as there is a huge variety that include Gala Balls and Balls for Singles and Gays. The most famous and expensive ball is held at the Copacabana Palace Hotel.