The Rio carnival is quite rightly known as ‘The greatest party on Earth’. The five-day extravaganza of all night samba dancing and drinking is a party for the senses with the performers dazzling in glittering costumes and music pumping in the streets.
Raphael Bick, Flickr
This year the carnival in Rio attracted over six million people and 900,000 of these were tourists.
The highlight of the Rio carnival for many locals is the internationally renowned competition where twelve samba schools perform for the coveted title of champion of the Rio Carnival 2013.
Hundreds of workers both young and old work for months on end stitching, sewing, carving and cutting to create the elaborate floats and costumes. Many of them have to fit this work in around their normal day jobs but are so proud to be a central part of the Rio carnival that they don’t mind.
To give you an idea of the scale of the spectacle that is the Rio carnival there were 3,800 dancers and seven floats. If you are one of the lucky ones watching this crazy parade as it makes its slow progress through the streets of Rio you’ll know that they eventually arrive at Rio’s open-air Sambodrome (an epic structure seating 72,500 people).
There are 40 judges at the carnival who grade the competing schools on music, creativity, choreography and dancing. The Rio carnival 2013 winner was The Vila Isabel samba school for its parade focussing on Brazil’s agricultural glory as “the world’s breadbasket’. The award was the samba schools third in its 65 year life.
So as the mass clean up of the streets of Rio begins and the residents nurse their 5 day hangovers, it’s all over for another year. If you’ve decided that it’s about time you experienced this incredible party for yourself do get in touch soon. It really does pay to plan ahead for a carnival holiday so that you can secure the best value hotels and flights.
