Rio Unveils 2026 Street Carnival Calendar With 462 Parades and Mega-Crowds

Overview

• Riotur’s official schedule runs from January 17 to February 22, with the Centro leading the city at 135 parades and the rest distributed across Zona Sul, Grande Tijuca, Zona Norte and other areas.
• The Circuito Preta Gil will host ten megablocos between January 24 and February 22, including Cordão da Bola Preta (projected 700,000) and Fervo da Lud (projected 600,000), with Monobloco closing the circuit.
• Beyond the megablocos, 61 large parades expecting at least 10,000 participants are confirmed across multiple neighborhoods, reflecting a push to decentralize the festivities.
• At a briefing in the city’s operations center, Riotur and municipal departments for health, public order and traffic presented integrated plans for safety, services and crowd management.
• Fortaleza’s Ciclo Carnavalesco begins January 16 with 25 stages citywide, and Aquiraz’s Carnaquiraz will feature 36 shows from February 14–17 across Prainha, Iguape and Batoque, with national acts such as Alok, Filipe Ret, Zé Neto & Cristiano and Pedro Sampaio.