Is Rio ready for Carnival 2012

Rio’s Carnival is always getting bigger and better and every year you can expect something new and this year it’s not only the Samba Schools that will be bringing something new to Carnival! This year the Sambadrome (“Sambódromo” in portuguese), where the Rio Carnival Parade takes place has been undergoing reconstruction and will be modernized in time for Carnival 2012 so everyone is waiting with bated breath to see if it really will be ready in time for one of the biggest shows on earth! The Sambodrome in Rio, originally designed by the world-famous architect Oscar Niemeyer in 1984, is the biggest stage on earth with every year each Samba School (and there are more than 70 in Rio!) taking 3-5,000 people down the Sambadrome “avenida” and up to 90,000 spectators watching the famous parades. The Sambadrome has never been as Oscar Niemeyer originally planned with some sectors having a restricted view and as it is to be used in the 2016 Olympics for the final of the Marathon big changes are needed to make it more symmetrical and increase capacity.


The plan is to accommodate an additional 18,000 people and have all sectors with unrestricted views of the avenida. Four new main buildings are under construction for sectors 2, 4, 6 and 8 with seats for all budgets: grandstands, open boxes or “frisas”, and luxury suites called “camarotes” (which sell for R$20,000-R$50,000 each!). Smaller buildings between the big grandstands blocks are being built for comfortable luxury suites with capacity of 60 people in each one of them.
So, the big question now is: Will the new stage be ready for Carnival 2012?! The Project Managers still maintain that the new Sambodrome will be finished in December 2011 and that it will be ready for visitors by January 8th, 2012 when the first Samba Schools take to the avenida for the start of the technical rehearsals in the run up to Carnival. Let’s hope they are right. It will be a momentous occasion as not only is December 15th Oscar Niemeyer’s birthday but having redesigned the Sambadrome at age 104, this celebration will be a special one for sure!