Sapucaí

The famous Rio de Janeiro Carnival at the Sambódromo Marquês da Sapucaí, Brazil.

The official Carnival parades take place just before the start of Lent. They are held for four consecutive nights, during which schools parade one after another from 8pm until the morning.

Each samba school has 75 minutes to parade from one end of the Sambadrome to the other with all its thousands of dancers, its drum section, and a number of floats. Each school chooses a theme of their choice for their presentation every year, writing their song and building their whole performance around it.

Schools are graded by a jury, and the competition is ferocious. On Ash Wednesday, grades are gathered, and one school is declared the winner. The Parade of Champions is held the following Saturday, featuring the five winning samba schools in the Special Group category and the A Series division winner, which joins the Special Group the next year.

These photos were taken on the elite Special Group marches on Sunday, 11th February 2024.