Rio Carnival today

The 2000s – Creation of one more league appearance and a new spirit of carnival

The parade of samba schools entered the twenty-first century as the greatest show on earth, both in the number of participants and in revenue.  And despite some pessimistic forecasts that the schools were crowded, the shows are renewed.

The Beija-Flor, with its concept of effective carnavalesco, saw its character replaced by a committee of carnival.  There is a division of tasks in a process of collective creation and association. 

Seeing success with its parades, other associations followed. Paulo Barros was surprised in 2004 when then “school” Unidos da Tijuca used an aesthetic of different materials and cheap alternatives to powerful effect. 

The components, such as the use of live allegories (the legendary car of DNA in 2005) are becoming the most surprising new art form and are reinventing lives. In 2007, in the Viradouro we see new innovation, with the battery on a float in the parade.

In 2006 the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro had a new attraction, the City of Samba. Built next to the Rua Marques Sambadrome Sapucai, the City of Samba meets with the main barracks of the samba schools of Rio de Janeiro and caused changes in the structure of the Rio carnival.

To better organize the parades, The League of Samba Schools of the Group of access was created in 2008.  Formed for ten schools, it broke with the Association of Schools of Samba since the assemblies were the same weight of so-called lower schools.