Rio Launches Major Operation for 2026 Street Carnival

Overview

• The Military Police will deploy more than 4,000 officers with about 500 vehicles and aerial support, with the Circuito Preta Gil area using vehicle-mounted cameras linked to facial-recognition systems.
• City authorities will field over 1,100 municipal agents, install checkpoints on Rua Primeiro de Março, and bar entry with glass containers and cutting objects.
• Rio’s Health Secretariat will open seven pre-hospital posts, including two on the Circuito, and has warned about dehydration, alcohol excess, sun and chemical burns, and missed medications.
• Women’s services will operate at the festivities after a reported 275% jump in harassment cases last year, with teams of psychologists, lawyers, and social workers and Ronda Maria da Penha at megablocos.
• The official calendar lists 462 street parades with 135 in the Centro, Riotur projects about 6 million revelers and more than R$5.7 billion in economic activity, and megablocos include Bola Preta (~700,000), Fervo da Lud (~600,000), and the debut of Ivete Sangalo’s megabloco.