The Sambódromo 2012

Sambódromo: The essentials | The rules of the game | When & where

OK, so it ain’t Rio. Everybody knows Carnival celebrations in the Marvellous City reach improbable heights of excess, and that wilder street parties can be found in the North East. But São Paulo isn’t fooling around either: those who opt for the visual extravaganza at the Sambódromo can expect the 14 escolas (samba schools) to be at the top of their game, each with a new theme, driving samba de enredo (themed sambas written by each school), and costumes glitzy enough to burn holes in your retinas. Yet, in spite of the city’s mega-budget and year-long preparations, ask paulistanos about their Carnival plans and many won’t even consider staying to celebrate in their hometown. It’s their loss.

In 2011, perennial favourite Vai-Vai, from the centrally located Bixiga neighborhood, brought 3,800 people to the Sambódromo, complete with all the large-scale, schmaltzy finery you can imagine. In one hour, they coursed through the deafening roar of cheering fans packed into the 530-metre-long stadium, belting a synchronised samba in homage to home-grown pianist extraordinaire João Carlos Martins. Enormous floats carried the allegorical theme, 'A música venceu' ('The music triumphed'), to skyscraping heights, with thousands of fully costumed and scantily clad paraders, led by MPB chanteuse Maria Rita as 'godmother', clenching the win.

It's a walk-off: The 2012 competition heats up

In 2012, the Big Fourteen will again go head-to-head at the Sambódromo Anhembi, São Paulo’s carnival stadium. The main competition will be the highly anticipated Grupo Especial on 17 and 18 February, beginning at 9pm, when seven of the schools strut their stuff the first night and the other seven on the second, competing for fame and a hefty cash prize, followed by fourteen second-string schools that compete on 19 February.

Thirty thousand revellers are expected to pack into the stadium each night to watch the schools perform a programme that has been in the works since even before the echoes of last year’s sambas de enredo had faded from the Sambódromo. The number of dancers who will be spin-sprinting and singing each night is nearly as great: about 25,000 in the combined 14 schools. When you add in the parade of second-string schools on 19 February (Grupo de Acesso) and the blocos (neighbourhood street parades), the total number of Carnival parade participants in São Paulo is expected to reach 107,000.

The rules of the game

As the escolas perform, judges give scores in categories like song, costumes and organisation (just getting everyone paraded through the stadium in a timely, orderly fashion three nights in a row is in itself quite a feat). Then, on 21 February, the schools will gather at their respective rehearsal sites to watch the apuração (reading of judges’ scores) and raise a glass one last time to fête their win (or loss). The winning school and top runners-up will be invited back to the Sambódromo on 24 February for a victory lap, though by then, everyone will already be dreaming of 2013.

• Hungry to know more about how the parades work? Find full details at Time Out Rio
  

Into the Sambódromo: The essentials

Tickets in the stands run from R$25-$150, depending on the date and parade you want to see. More expensive options are available, including private booths for up to 25 people that go for as much as R$30,000. If you have Brazilian ID numbers, or can snag a friend’s, the easiest way to order is online or by phone (4003 2245, ingressofacil.com.br). Tickets are also available in person at Anhembi Parque and other stadiums throughout the city.

Note that it's forbidden to take umbrellas, bottles and cans into the sambadrome – be prepared, since it might well rain, and take a plastic poncho along or remember to buy one outside the Sambódromo.

• Read full details of São Paulo's Carnival