Rio de Janeiro to welcome millions to 2017 carnival

A reveler at the Banda de Ipanema carnival "bloco" parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo / AP

Rio de Janeiro is making final preparations for its annual carnival, an event that attracts two million tourists annually and brings in nearly US$2 billion ($2.7 billion) in revenue.

The Brazilian city offers a range of options for all tastes and budgets during the pre-Lenten festival, from a visit to the mythical Sambadrome to witness the parade of samba schools to the Magic Ball at the Copacabana Palace Hotel to parties organised by street bands, known as "blocos," that play samba or marchinhas, a polka-type music.

Although the first Rio carnival dates to the mid-17th century, it was not until the birth of the samba schools in the city's Little Africa neighbourhood in the 1920s that the event became a mass celebration known locally as the "world's biggest spectacle."

Millions flock to Brazil's carnival celebrations every year. Photo / 123RF

Carnival's signature event, the parade of samba schools, was transferred in 1984 from downtown Rio to the Sambadrome, an 80,000-seat venue designed by the late architect Oscar Niemeyer.

Tickets are hard to come by at the "temple of samba," ranging from between US$70-US$160 per person in the bleachers to between US$1,430 and US$2,500 for a group of six people in the front row. Luxury suites can cost as much as US$40,000 for a single night.

Revelers in costume dance during the Banda de Ipanema carnival "bloco" parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo / AP

Those who prefer street parties can join the huge crowds centered around one of several hundred blocos, which begin parading weeks before carnival begins.

There are blocos for all tastes and ages, but the Cordao da Bola Preta, which mobilises nearly one million party-goers in downtown Rio and also is the parade with the most reports of pickpocketing, is clearly the most popular.

- AAP