Rio Carnival 2025
Now that you know all about Rio Carnival, you've got to come! Here you'll find all the information you need for Carnival 2025 ...
Carnival 2025: February 28 to March 8.
The big parades at Rio de Janeiro's Sambodrome usually take place on the Sunday and Monday of Carnival week. In 2025, Rio de Janeiro Carnival will take place from February 28 to March 8. Consequently, the main parades (special groups) will take place on Sunday March 2 and Monday March 3. But you'll also be able to attend the Access Group (Group A) parades on February 28 and March 1, as well as the Parade of Champions on March 8.
Friday evening: 1st part of the parade, in the sambodrome, of the "second division" schools (group A), one of which will move up to the "grandes" group (special group schools).
Saturday: 2nd part of the Group A school parade.
Sunday: 1st evening of special group parades. These special group schools are the elite of Rio Carnival. It is in this group that they can win the supreme title of best samba school.
Monday: 2nd evening of the special group.
Tuesday: parade of junior samba schools. Junior schools are often the junior division of the big samba schools. With an age limit of 18, most of the participants are much younger and bring together real future talents of the samba world. Eye-catching, surprising and full of spirit, these parades are a must-see.
Wednesday: Results of Rio Carnival 2025.
No parades on this day. But it's an important date.
Parades are a competition in which samba schools compete to win first place and/or retain their place in their group. Judges award marks according to various criteria, the results of which are listed at a ceremony held in the Place de l'Apothéose. On this date in the late afternoon, you'll find out who the carnival champion is!the following Saturday: parade of the Rio 2024 Carnival champion schools. The program will feature the 6 highest-rated schools of the year in the special groups. They will have the honor of marching down the Sambodromo in a purely festive parade, to exalt their joy at being among the best samba schools of the year.
A very intense, emotionally-charged spectacle.
There are three main types of square in the sambodromo:
Bleachers (Arquibancadas): these are among the least expensive seats. The seating is concrete, but the atmosphere is supercharged.
The seats are generally oversold, and you'll be squeezed in delightfully tight. You need to get there early to guarantee your seat at the lowest possible price (allow two hours' notice).
Another drawback is that the show goes on for a very long time, and if you go out for a bite to eat or a quick bite to eat, there's no guarantee - apart from the education of your neighbors - that your seat will still be there when you return.
Only sector 9, known as the tourist sector, offers numbered seats at far higher prices than the other stands.
Despite these constraints, the stands offer an incomparable general view of the parade.Frisas: these are delimited areas of four or six places each, organized in 4 lines called A, B, C and D. In the frisas, you're right up in the middle of the parade. In line A, which is separated from the avenue by a simple guardrail, you feel as if you're taking part in the parade. There's plenty of interaction with the participants, who have plenty of emotions to share.
Les loges (camarotes): this is where we enter the top of the range. These are enclosed spaces overlooking the avenue des défilés.
You'll be sheltered from the rain and comfortably installed with air conditioning.Most of the time, these lodges offer all-you-can-eat buffets with food, drinks and even breakfast.
Each lodge offers various additional services, such as TV to see certain details of the fashion show as they are broadcast live on TV, sofas, musicians, DJs, make-up areas, massages and even Jacuzzis!
This is the most chic and comfortable way to attend the fashion shows: high class!There are two other less common types of seating: special boxes & individual trackside chairs.
