I recently posted about being in Rio for the Canival street parties. They were, understandably, awesome…each and every one of them. But you can’t really go to Rio for Carnival and not see the biggest and most colourful show in the world – the Sambadrome Parade.
I only got round to booking my Sambadrome tickets a few weeks before the event, but our seats in sector 5 turned out to be among the best for getting a panoramic view of each of the schools as their floats passed by, followed by thousands of dancers in elaborate costumes.
Despite the hype that surrounds this event, though, I found that there were quite a few surprises in store…
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Each parade lasts roughly 10 hours
With each of six schools taking pretty much bang on their allocated time of 82 minutes to get from one end to the other, and with a short break in between, the whole parade runs roughly from 9 pm until 7 am. Take it from me, that’s a long time to sit on a concrete step.
Our genius plan to stay out at one of the street blocos and then a seedy Lapa night club until it got light that morning and to sleep all day so that we were well rested totally backfired. I reckon I could have happily crawled into bed at 9 pm that night and slept for a solid 12 hours.
Despite being wrecked, we still managed to stay up for the full show, outlasting hoards of fresh-faced youngsters, which just goes to show how exciting and gripping a spectacle the parade is.
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The schools plan their entire presentation around a theme
Every year, each samba school comes up with a theme. The ones I witnessed ranged from the evolution of the horse to soap operas. It wasn’t always clear to see how every costume fitted in with the theme, but my favourite by far was ‘Grande Rio’, who told the story of the importance of oil royalties in the socioeconomic organisation of Brazil’s cities. Odd right? But no matter how much I’d anticipated unique performances that night, nothing had prepared me for dancing deep sea divers…
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Each school has its own song
On the way in, you’re handed a brochure with information about all of the schools and alongside a description of each one’s theme are the printed lyrics that correspond to that school’s song for the year.
Judging by how well some of the local Brazilians in the crowd knew the tunes and mouthed the words from the word go, they’d been practicing in their showers for weeks.
Even if you don’t speak Portuguese, you have 82 minutes of each song being on repeat and they’re pretty basic. You should find yourself joining in with the best of them after a few rounds.
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The costumes are seriously elaborate
I knew about the scantily clad ladies and impressive floats, but the sheer variety of costumes that passed us by, from fish to pencils to skeletons, was astonishing…
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One of the street cleaners is famous
After each school has passed through, a bunch of cleaners in traditional Rio street sweeper orange uniforms work their way along the strip tidying up debris. A few years ago, one such guy called Renato Sorriso danced his way along using his sweeping brush as a prop and gained worlwide fame for his moves. He even opened the Brazilian section of the 2012 Olypics closing ceremony. I’m not 100% sure this is the same guy, but I can’t imagine anyone else having moves as good as this!
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You can get private seating in an apartment-style room
With tickets going for around US$2500 a pop, I didn’t have to think too hard about whether or not to book seats in one of these booths, but I did end up sitting directly opposite them on a hard concrete step with someone’s feet permanently digging into my back. Oh, how the other half live! The rich and famous were busy being pampered by personal waiters with expensive bottles of champagne as they leant back on sofas or dangled their legs precariously over the edges of their boxes.
In contrast, after the sun had beaten down on our ‘seats’ all day, they were warm enough to cook an egg when we first arrived and hard enough to give us chronic back pain by the time the last of the performers had wiggled their asses round the final corner.
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The Sambadrome has some interesting alternative uses
Not only is the venue used for concerts throughout the rest of the year, some of the booth areas become classrooms during the day. This year, reconstruction of some of the bleachers increased the Sambadrome’s capacity by 18,000 seats in preparation for the 2016 Olympics. The street will be used for archery and, apparently, also the marathon, although, at a length of 700 metres, I’m assuming it will only make for an exciting end point, rather than a relay of 60 cramped laps…
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The male performers are just as hot as the females
Hmmmmm.
‘Nuff said. But, in the interest of not being sexist, here’s one for the boys as well…
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Where to stay in Rio
I tried out a few hostels in Rio and my favourite, by a long shot, was Books Hostel in Lapa. In fact, it was one of my favourite hostels in South America. I went back to it twice after visiting other parts of Brazil, and I visited it in the evenings when I made the mistake of trying out a hostel near Copacabana Beach for a few nights. The guy who runs is – Felipe – is awesome, and there is a sense of homeliness to it that makes almost every backpacker extend their stay. Decorated with quirky graffiti murals and left-behind shoes, and with a small bar serving cachaca and beers every evening, it’s the perfect place to socialise with new friends before checking out the famous street parties of Lapa.
We ummed and arred about going to the Sambadrome when we went to Rio a few years ago. As we went to various street parties and balls and because it was quite pricey we decided against it in the end. But with hindsight I actually regret not having gone. It does look spectacular!
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I wasn’t 100% sure before I got there either. It ended up costing almost US$200, which isn’t cheap. But it was by far the most amazing show I’ve ever witnessed and I don’t regret spending that money now. You can actually get really cheap last-minute tickets from most hostels. I had a lot of friends who did that, but then again, they had to stand the whole time and had very restricted views.
This looks absolutely incredible! Except those scull costumes, they’re just scary. They sure know how to put on a good parade in Rio.
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I knew it would be good, but I was amazed. It really surpassed my expectations. I agree the sculls are freaky! I’d have been very disappointed to have trained all year as a samba dancer and then get told I was wearing that!
What an amazing experience! Wow, those costumes – so vibrant and such a mass of them. Yes, and the skulls looked really scary.
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I know. I think if I had the chance to go again, I’d buy a costume and join in the parade. That would be an even more amazing experience but I was put off doing it this year because I wanted to see the whole event from an elevated position.
oh amazing! I have never seen anything like it! wow!
Exactly my thoughts when I was there. I can’t even begin to imagine how much it costs to put this whole show together. Certainly makes you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth though!
I would sit 10 hours on a concrete step… Love your photos! Looks like you got great seats! Dancing deep sea divers are cool :)
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The dancing deep sea divers were my favourite bit. I like to see something unusual and unexpected! Apparently one of the floats the night before had a swimming pool on it!
I watched it on TV and it was so long, indeed, but 10 hours in a row? That’s madness, but I guess you get what you pay for. Awesome photos. It’s on my bucket list :)
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It was looooooong! But it didn’t feel that bad because there was so much going on. I would just recommend taking a cushion and lots of food and energy drinks!
Going to Carnival is a dream of mine – I love Brazil and I love samba. I think I’d want to check out Carnival in Bahia as well. I take samba lessons now, and my teacher always goes home for Carnival or just before Carnival to train at the different samba schools in Rio. And then she comes back and teaches us some new ‘Rio-style’ moves. I would love to participate in Carnival someday, but I had no idea that each parade is 10 hours – geez!!!
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I think you should participate! With all those lessons from a professional you’ll be the best public member by far :)
Hi Arianwen, those photos are breathtaking. You captured not only the amazing colors but the energy of the festival as well. I can feel the beat, too! I can’t imagine how amazing it was to be right there. The display of creativity is just phenomenal. I hope to make it to the Sambadrome next year!
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Thank you! It was really hard selecting which of my 2000 pictures to use in the post! I’ve never been so shutter happy, but it’s easy to see why. I hope you make it there next year too. As you say, it is phenomenal.
2,000 photos Wow! The photos you chose are incredible. I feel so inspired to go and watch this festival for myself! Got to start saving the pennies.
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Yes, it was the most amazing show I’ve ever seen. I can’t imagine all the work that goes into planning it and making all the flats and costumes. If you have the chance, you should definitely go!
Congratulations for the blog Arianwen!
Always great to read about my home country seen through other eyes :-)
Thank you! I particularly loved Rio. It’s definitely one of my favourite cities in the world, if not my number one!
Are there hotels with balconies overlooking the Sambadrome?
I wouldn’t call any of it a hotel, but there are some large rooms with balconies that you can hire out. I’m not sure if they have anywhere to sleep or how long you can stay there, but we could see some very luxurious rooms opposite the steps we were sitting on!
Love the photos! Does anyone know if you can buy a costume to participate in the 2016 sambadrome parade in the couple weeks before carnival? I see you can buy some costumes for the samba schools wings online, but they are pretty expensive. I wondered if you could buy them for less in Rio closer to the date.
Thanks for any help!
Thank you! I’m sorry, but I don’t know anything about that. I didn’t look into participating when I was there. That would be really awesome though. I hope you find a way :)
Thank you for the post!! I am headed to Rio for 2016. What would you recommend for getting good grandstand seating? How early, which area (middle vs sides), and I assume the lower you are the better? We will be in sector 10. Can we bring in a backpack w snacks/cushions? Your pictures are beautiful and I am really looking forward to the experience?
Hi there! I’m afraid I don’t know too many details about where to sit as I wrote the post based only on my own experience and research three years ago. I think we booked about a month in advance and were very happy with our seats. If you go low you’ll be closer to the action, but if you go higher, you’ll have a bird’s eye view of all the costumes and floats. I’m actually glad we were further back as the floats and costumes are so big and vivid you don’t need to be up close to appreciate them. A good camera with zoom is a good idea though. You can definitely take a backpack with snacks and a cushion. Just don’t take valuables unless you need them (some cash and a camera) and keep an eye on your stuff. It felt very safe but you can never be too careful. I hope you have a fantastic time! :)