After two years without the traditional parades at Marquês de Sapucaí, in Rio de Janeiro, seven samba schools from the Golden Series, access division, inaugurate the return to the avenue this Wednesday (20), at 9 pm. In all, 15 clubs are vying for a spot in the Special Group, which will take to the avenue from Friday (22).
This Tuesday (19), the Fire Department authorized the parades at the Sambadrome, giving a license for the permanent structure of the stands and the track. However, the corporation has not yet received the documents necessary to complete the process of the floats and cabins.
“We will not allow cabins to function without proper documentation. There are spaces asking for authorization for up to four thousand people. If there is no documentation, projects, exhaust, signaling and other requirements, we will interdict, there is no way “, said the Secretary of State for Civil Defense and General Commander of the Fire Department, Colonel Leandro Monteiro.
Despite the pending issues to be resolved, the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro (Liesa) announced that Sapucaí should be practically full. For those who still want to follow the show, according to the entity’s general sales coordinator, Heron Schneider, tickets are available from R$15.
“We hope to reach a percentage of 97% of tickets sold for the parade days. Even with the change of date, demand has been expected and exceeding expectations”, said Schneider.
Also this Wednesday, King Momo, one of the most well-known characters in Carnival, will once again receive the key to the city of Rio de Janeiro. Symbolically, Mayor Eduardo Paes will hand over the “command” of the municipality to the regent of the carioca revelry.
“Divided Carnival” should move R$ 2.8 billion in Rio de Janeiro
The Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau (Rio CVB), an entity that promotes tourism, believes that the sector will recover revenue, after two years of losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Carnival, divided into two stages, has been guaranteeing good results for the sector in both periods, with about 80% occupancy in February and a similar expectation for this month. After a year without the parades, we have a lot to celebrate with the return of samba schools to the sambadrome and the return of tourists to Rio de Janeiro”, says the executive director of Rio CVB, Roberta Werner.
The Rio de Janeiro Hotels Association (ABIH-RJ) and the Accommodation Means Union (HotéisRIo) reported that occupancy in the city reached 78% this Tuesday and that national tourists account for 86% of reservations, especially coming from São Paulo and Minas Gerais.
The entities have also noticed the gradual return of foreign visitors, who represent 14% of guests, most of them coming from the United States, Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
“We believe that the occupancy numbers will increase even more. Our expectation is that, by the beginning of Carnival, it will reach 85%. After two years without parades and blocks, the public wants to enjoy the charms of the Marvelous City again”, declared the president of HotéisRIO, Alfredo Lopes.
The City Hall of Rio de Janeiro carried out a survey, in February of this year, which showed that Carnival in Rio de Janeiro generates a turnover of R$ 4 billion. However, according to the economist and coordinator of Unirio’s Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Gabriel Pinto, this time the city should not reach this value, as the date was different from what it usually is.
“The Carnival that takes place in February is on the national and international calendar. People schedule themselves for that moment. The blocks alone usually move around R$ 1 billion. This year was atypical, so the city should generate R$2.8 billion with the two dates. The first event was shy, had more tourism than the parties themselves and reached only 200 million reais, a fraction of the value. Now, this week will see more economic activity, but not quite the same gains as usual,” he says.
Tribute to the Independent Youth of Father Miguel
In this week of the return of the parades, Governor Cláudio Castro sanctioned Law 9.647/22, which makes the Grêmio Recreativo Escola de Samba Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel become an Intangible Cultural Heritage of the State of Rio de Janeiro.
The school has six achievements and ranks as the seventh biggest winner of the Carnival of Rio de Janeiro Carnival Champions.
*under supervision of Pauline Almeida
Source: CNN Brasil
