Sambadrome: The Ultimate fun place during the Carnival in Brazil

Welcome to the place where all the fun happens!

You can always hang out and have fun on the streets where parties seem to be never-ending during the Carnival in Brazil, especially in Rio. However, a trip to the country for the Carnival will definitely feel incomplete if you are not able to watch at least one of the parades at the Sambadrome.

The Sambadrome has actually different names. It can be referred as the Sambadrome by tourists, while the native Brazilian people will call it Sambodromo, which is in the Portuguese version. Or it may also be referred as Apoteose or Marques de Sapucai, because of the main square and the main street that are part of the whole runaway.

Regardless of how it’s called, though, it has a very important purpose as the venue where all samba schools can perform during 4 of the 7 days of the carnival week. That’s why thousands of people get to visit Sambadrome every year.

For last minute tickets to the parade, balls and/or tours and accommodation packages, contact our Carnival Help Desk by email [email protected] or Visit us at our Help Desk located at the Atlantico Copacabana Hotel in Copacabana.

How It Came to Be

Brazilians have been very serious and passionate about the Carnival. In fact, there are many Carnival parties around the country every year. The only difference is that the Rio de Janeiro’s festival is the most well known internationally.

Moreover, little communities have formed their own samba schools and started to compete among them. As the competition was becoming widely famous, there were more and more schools that had opted to participate. And, of course, it started to gain its notoriety, attracting countless tourists into the country.

So they needed a much bigger and hopefully a more permanent venue to hold these competitions. And the Sambadrome was created. It was commissioned by Governor Leonel Brizola, and it was the famous and country’s pride architect Oscar Niemeyer who converted the entire street Marquês de Sapucaí into what it is now. It was inaugurated in 1984, only 4 months after the construction started.

What Can You Expect

To say that the Sambadrome is huge is limiting its size. It stretches to around 700 meters and is composed of different sections divided in different sectors. The most common ones you’re going to see will be the bleachers that are actually made of concrete steps. These are the preferred sites for those who cannot afford the very hefty-priced tickets. They are usually not numbered, except for the Sector 9, the tourist sector, which are still bleachers, but with numbered seats. Hence, you have your spot guaranteed.

The ones that are more expensive are the open boxes, where you have fewer seats available. Each box have 6 seats, with a little side table where you can put your things on top.

Then you have the luxury suites, lounges that accommodate up to 12 people, which include open bar and buffet with personal waiter who can take care of all your needs all night long.

Anyway for those who opt for the bleachers and open boxes, in between the long stretch of the seats are buildings, where you can buy treats such as hamburgers, hot dogs, and other kinds of snacks and beverages.

The venue can hold as many as 90,000 people in one night. However, the number has been growing throughout the years that there are also plenty who converge on the open ground.

The Sambadrome is not only meant for carnival parades. During off season, it can be converted into big concert grounds where the likes of U2, Whitney Houston, and Pearl Jam had already performed.