Parade T he Samba School Parade at Rio s Sambodrome is something everybody has to experience at least once in life. The event is broadcast live to several countries, and all Brazilian states. Watching on TV is cool, but not half as much fun as being there. You have to mingle with the crowd, sweat, maybe even march with a samba school . Unlike Street Carnival the Samba Parade is not free.
Tickets are actually quite expensive, but more than worth the investment.
Fourteen special group schools march on Carnival Sunday and Monday, seven each day. The parade starts at 7 p.m. and goes on until sunlight the next day, around 6 a.m. This samba marathon is also a fierce competition. Each year two schools will go down from special to access group, and vice-versa. In case you are getting completely mixed up, Samba Schools are not teaching institutions .