Rio Carnival Cancelled for the First Time in a Century

Even wars, disease and political turmoil have never stopped the world-famous carnival before
Around 2 million people take to the streets during the carnival
Around 2 million people take to the streets during the carnival
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2 min read

We saw many popular festivals go virtual, while a lot were cancelled during this pandemic. The last of which is Brazil. The country has decided to postpone its world-famous samba carnival parade.

For over a century, Rio's carnival was an unstoppable event. It has been held during the worst of times in human history during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, and both the World Wars, and even during Brazil&rsquos military dictatorship. The carnival has never stopped. In 2008, despite the dengue outbreak that affected more than 200,000 people, the dance and music went on.

 
 
 
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âÂÂÂ&umlCarnaval do Brasil⨠⤠â¤â¤ â¡ #Location ð Rio and Sao Paulo Brazil ð§ð· ⤠â¤â¤ â¡ #RandomFact ðÂÂÂÂÂÂ&centThe&nbspCarnival of Brazil (Carnaval do Brasil), is an annual&nbspBrazilian&nbspfestival held between the Friday afternoon before&nbspAsh Wednesday&nbspand Ash Wednesday at noon, which marks the beginning of&nbspLent, the forty-day period before Easter. Rhythm, participation, and costumes vary from one region of Brazil to another. In the southeastern cities of&nbspRio de Janeiro,&nbspS&atildeo Paulo, and&nbspVit&oacuteria, huge organized parades are led by&nbspsamba schools. Those official parades are meant to be watched by the public, while minor parades (blocos) allowing public participation can be found in other cities, like&nbspBelo Horizonte, also in the southeastern region.  _____________________________________________ âªï¸ÂÂÂâ âÂÂÂÂÂÂâ âªï¸Â¤¤â¤¤âªï¸ÂÂÂâ â âªï¸ÂÂÂâªï¸ÂÂÂâ âÂÂÂÂÂÂâ âªï¸Â¤¤â¤¤âªï¸ÂÂÂâ âÂÂÂÂÂÂâ âªï¸ÂÂÂâªï¸ÂÂÂâ â âªï¸Â¤¤â¤¤âªï¸ÂÂÂâ âÂÂÂÂÂÂâ âªï¸Â &heartsï¸ÂÂÂâ¡[ #Travel_Elation_Club ]â¡&heartsï¸Â âªï¸ÂÂÂâ âÂÂÂÂÂÂâ âªï¸Â¤¤â¤¤âªï¸ÂÂÂâ â âªï¸ÂÂÂâªï¸ÂÂÂâ âÂÂÂÂÂÂâ âªï¸Â¤¤â¤¤âªï¸ÂÂÂâ âÂÂÂÂÂÂâ âªï¸ÂÂÂâªï¸ÂÂÂâ â âªï¸Â¤¤â¤¤âªï¸ÂÂÂâ âÂÂÂÂÂÂâ âªï¸Â _____________________________________________ #travel #travelphotography #travelgram #lovethisgame #photooftheday #wanderlust #instatravel #travelblogger #travelislife #carnavaldobrasil #brazilcarnival #brazilð§ð· #samba #dance #life #saopaulo #magiciseverywhere

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However, for the first time since 1932 when Rio&rsquos samba parade became official, the organisers have decided to suspend it. The cancelling/postponing of the event will deprive the city of one of its important revenue sources. And of performances that play a major role in the political commentary of the country.

The suspension due to the pandemic that has&nbspkilled more than 142,000 people &mdash second only to the United States &mdash has left the city of Rio reeling.

While the city&rsquos leading samba organisations found that the event wouldn&rsquot be safe until the world has found a vaccine, some from the army of dancers, choreographers, costume makers and set designers who produce the dazzling costumes and floats oppose the move. They say their loss is personal as well as financial.

However, the Independent League of Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools (LIESA) issued a statement that the event is being postponed and not cancelled. The body also said that they are considering an alternative solution to safely conduct the event.

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