Claim: Rio urges Carnival visitors to stick to urban areas.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Rio de Janeiro
text: far more criminalized than the south region of Brazil, which is considered the safest in the country. Rio de Janeiro is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, Carnival, samba, bossa nova, and balneario beaches such as Barra da Tijuca, Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon. In addition to the beaches, some of the most famous landmarks include the giant statue of "Christ the Redeemer" atop Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World; Sugarloaf Mountain with its cable car; the "Sambódromo" (Sambadrome), a permanent grandstand-lined parade avenue

title: Rio Carnival
text: side-effect of taking street parades from the downtown area to a specific, ticketed performance area. Some samba schools have since been motivated by an agenda that focuses on regaining public space, and using the carnival tradition to occupy the streets with parades or "blocos". Many of these represent a local community of the area but are open to all. Several of the Rio street carnival blocks that hold the parties are affiliated to the "Rio de Janeiro State Street Carnival Blocks Federation" (FBCERJ), established in 1965. The Queen of the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and up to two princesses

title: Rio Carnival
text: and the balls are being held in the Copacabana Palace and beach, many carnival participants are at other locations. Street festivals are very common during carnival and are highly populated by the locals. Elegance and extravagance are usually left behind, but music and dancing are still extremely common. Anyone is allowed to participate in the street festivals. Bandas are very familiar with the street carnival especially because it takes nothing to join in on the fun except to jump in. One of the most well known bandas of Rio is Banda de Ipanema. Banda de Ipanema was first created in

title: Brazilian Carnival
text: were more than three million people on the streets, with about 500,00 tourists. The Baianas Ozadas block hit a record audience of 500,000 people. The Carnival of the city of Ouro Preto is very popular with college students in the area. The city has a large proportion of students, who during the year live in places called Repúblicas (a rented house maintained and ruled by themselves). During carnival, the Repúblicas are literally packed with residents and many visitors coming from all over the country. The hills prevent traffic of heavy sound trucks, but don't stop people from feasting all night

title: Pedestrian zone
text: the roads beside the beaches are auto-free on Sundays and holidays. Downtown Rio de Janeiro, Ouvidor Street, over almost its entire length, has been continually a pedestrian space since the mid-nineteenth century when not even carts or carriages were allowed. And the Saara District, also downtown, consists of some dozen or more blocks of colonial streets, off limits to cars, and crowded with daytime shoppers. Likewise, many of the city's hillside favelas are effectively pedestrian zones as the streets are too narrow and/or steep for automobiles. Eixo Rodoviário, in Brasília, which is 13 kilometers long and 30 meters wide and

title: Brazilian Carnival
text: for industrial production, retail establishments such as malls, and carnival-related businesses, the country unifies completely for almost a week and festivities are intense, day and night, mainly in coastal cities. Rio de Janeiro's carnival alone drew 4.9 million people in 2011, with 400,000 being foreigners. This cultural manifestation is generally an extension of Afro-Brazilian culture, though could also be historically traced to the Portuguese Age of Discoveries when their caravels passed regularly through Madeira, a territory which already celebrated emphatically its carnival season, and where they were loaded with goods but also people and their ludic and cultural expressions. In

title: Brazilian Carnival
text: 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 Belo Horizonte, also in the southeastern region. The northeastern cities of Recife, Olinda, Salvador, and Porto Seguro have organized groups parading through streets, and public interacts directly with them. This carnival is also influenced by African-Brazilian culture. It is a six-day party where crowds follow the trios elétricos through the city streets, dancing and singing. Also in northeast, Olinda carnival features unique characteristics, heavily influenced by local folklore and cultural manifestations, such as Frevo and

title: Natal, Rio Grande do Norte
text: completely urbanized and there are several points shops, restaurants, bars and night clubs. The sand itself is lined with "tents", or huts, that serve food and drinks to beachgoers day and night. A common sight on the beach are "jangadas", simple, multicolored, local fishing boats typical of northeastern Brazil. The Via Costeira (Coastal Way) is a great avenue built next to the dunes and beaches of the city, including making the connection of several beaches in the state. The Pipa Beach is located from Natal and completely away from urban centers. Paradise a beach that attract thousands of tourists every

title: Rio Carnival
text: 1965 and is known as Rio’s most irreverent street band. Incorporated into every aspect of the Rio carnival are dancing and music. The most famous dance is carnival samba, a Brazilian dance with African influences. The samba remains a popular dance not only in carnival but in the ghettos outside of the main cities. These villages keep alive the historical aspect of the dance without the influence of the western cultures. Music is another major part of all aspects of the carnival. As stated by Samba City, "Samba Carnival Instruments are an important part of Brazil and the Rio de

title: Banda de Ipanema
text: Patrimonio Cultural", in a recognition of the important role it played in the rebirth of Rio Carnival Street Festivities . To give you an idea of the proportions, in 2009 there were about 400 street bands registered officially. The largest one, Monobloco, reportedly gathered 400 thousand revelers on Sunday the week after Carnival along Av. Rio Branco, in the Downtown area. Like all other street Carnival festivities in Rio, the event is free - you do not have to pay to join the fun. The gathering spot is at Praca General Osorio around 4 p.m., and the band starts marching

title: Brazilian Carnival
text: blocos, but like São Paulo state towns, they seem to prefer balls to street dancing. Curitiba hosts modest carnival celebrations similar to those of other Brazilian cities and events such as Curitiba Rock Festival and a carnival Zombie Walk, all supported by Cultural Foundation of Curitiba which operates under supervision of government of Curitiba. The Carnival parades in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo take place in their "sambódromos", located close to the city center. In the Rio Sambódromo, the parades start at 20:00 or 21:00 (depending on the date) and end around 5:00 in the morning. The Rio de

title: Carnival in French Guiana
text: which are set up for the occasion. Brazilian groups have similar costumes to those encountered at Rio Carnival, while the country's Asian community incorporates dragons in the festivities. On Monday, a sham act of marriage with women (brides) in men's gowns and men (grooms) in women's dresses is the main spectacle. Tuesday, the last day of the festival, is marked by the appearance of the main spirit of King Vaval, who is considered by the locals to be "the devil and soul of carnival". He arrives on a canoe in the form of an effigy, made of straw. A very

title: Olinda
text: in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, in Olinda, admission to Carnival is free. All the festivities are celebrated on the streets, and there are no bleachers or roping. There are hundreds of small musical groups (sometimes featuring a single performer) in many genres. Several indigenous tribes occupied the coast of Northeastern Brazil for several thousand years, and the hills of the present day municipality of Olinda had settlements of Caetés and Tupinambá tribes, which were frequently at war. French mercenaries are thought to be the first Europeans to get to the region, but the Portuguese exploited intertribal rivalries and managed

title: Rio Carnival
text: world. There can be more than 300 bandas taking place at any given point in time. While the biggest street party takes place right outside the Sambadrome, the largest organized street dance is typically found on Cinelândia Square in Rio’s Centro. In 2012, more than 2 million revelers took to the streets of Rio de Janeiro to participate in the Cordão da Bola Preta bloco. According to police estimates, more than 5 million people attended a bloco during Rio Carnival 2012 and there was not one reported incident of crime. When the Sambadrome was built in 1984, it had the

title: Brazilian Carnival
text: community may receive one for free, but normally, most will have to pay for their own. Tourists can have the same experience on the "Commercial Area" of some Samba Schools but need to buy their own costume from the school, or through an agent, either of which can be quite costly. There are several major differences between Carnival in the state of Bahia in Northeastern Brazil and Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The musical styles are different at each carnival; in Bahia there are many rhythms, including samba, samba-reggae, axé, etc., while in Rio there is the multitude of samba

title: Bahian Carnival
text: the south of Bahia, became prominent site for "ressaca". Its format is similar to the "trio elétrico" street parades in Salvador, with a significant overlap in the performing acts. Morro de São Paulo is another popular site, where there is no official (governmental) organization, and most parties are private. Within one month after the official ending, some media groups host award gala events to recognize outstanding achievement in the carnival. The most traditional accolades are Dodô and Osmar Trophy (Grupo A Tarde), Band Folia Trophy (Rede Bandeirantes) and Troféu Bahia Folia (Rede Bahia de Televisão). Categories vary between the events.

title: Rio Grande do Norte
text: off-season carnival in Brazil, the Forte dos Reis Magos is a sixteenth-century fortress, the hills and mountains of Martins, the Natal Dunes State Park the second largest urban park in the country, and several other attractions. The state is also closest to the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. Rio Grande do Norte is dominated by its coastline. The state is famed for its beaches and sand dunes, and the air is, according to NASA, the second-cleanest in the world after Antarctica. Two climates predominate: humid tropical, in the oriental littoral, and semi-arid, in the remaining (most part) of the State

title: Carnival in Mexico
text: are designed to appeal to different groups of people, two parades, a street party with live music, two food festivals, selection of the royal court and concerts. All are organized by the city around a different theme each year. It is more family-oriented, less sexual than Rio de Janeiro’s and more tranquil than that of New Orleans or Veracruz, but it occupies the city completely during its time. The preferred music is banda but grupera, sinaloense, mariachi, chirrines and other danceable musical styles are also heard. There are also cultural events. Carnival days are official holidays in the city, with

title: Rio de Janeiro
text: Zone () begins at Grande Tijuca (the middle class residential and commercial "bairro" of Tijuca), just west of the city center, and sprawls for miles inland until Baixada Fluminense and the city's Northwest. This region is home to the Maracanã stadium (located in Grande Tijuca), once the world's highest capacity football venue, able to hold nearly 199,000 people, as it did for the World Cup final of 1950. More recently its capacity has been reduced to conform with modern safety regulations and the stadium has introduced seating for all fans. Currently undergoing reconstruction, it has now the capacity for 90,000;

title: Rio Carnival
text: In 1978, the parade was transferred to the Marquês de Sapucaí Avenue, where it remains up to this day. In 1983, the then governor Leonel Brizola, commissioned the architect Oscar Niemeyer the project of a permanent local stadium for the parades in that area, because until then the bleachers were assembled at the time of the carnival and then removed. With the increase in the number of schools taking part, which made the parade more long and tiring for the public, in 1984 the parade started to be carried out in two days: Sunday and Monday for the major schools,