RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio’s City Hall announced parade plans for the street Carnaval blocos, on Friday January 17th.There were several changes to the schedule of the traditional blocos that parade in the south zone of town. There will also be only one megabloc per day, always in the city center and in the morning.
The large blocos that parade in Ipanema, like Simpatia é Quase Amor and Banda de Ipanema, will have their schedules changed and will also start their traditional routes in the morning. Thus, on these days, there will be no mass migration of revellers from downtown to the south zone, one of the main demands of the residents’ associations.
“The residents’ associations of the southern zone asked me to take measures to avoid violence and unrest. The city centre is the most suitable place for megablocs, because there are no residents there, we have no problem. There are problems, especially in densely populated areas, like the south zone,” Mayor Marcelo Crivella said.
According to Riotur, 543 bloco parades were authorized for this years Carnaval. These blocos, however, must meet the requirements of the state police and fire department and present the approval of these bodies to city hall. The deadline is next week, so that number may change.
Megablocos
Megablocos are those that gather at least 300,000 people. There are seven of them: Bola Preta, Poderosas, Chora me Liga, Bloco da Preta, Frevo da Lua, Monobloco and Carnaval Square. Everyone will be out in the city center, from 7am to 1pm. On these days, the large blocos, which gather 100,000 people, like Simpatia é Quase Amor and the Banda de Ipanema, will parade at the same time.
Carlos Monjardim, president of the Ipanema Residents’ Association, praised city hall for having spoken to organized civil society. “Ipanema is shoulder to shoulder with Mayor Crivella and the city government to hold the best Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro. The mayor had the sensitivity to listen to the residents’ associations so that we could build a solution that would alleviate the inconvenience that major events cause in our neighborhoods,” he said.
Another who praised the change of the bloco schedule in the south zone was the president of the Friends of Copacabana Society, Horácio Magalhães Gomes.
“Mayor Crivella showed sensitivity by listening to organized civil society. The feeling is to perfect the Carnaval, which is very important for the city of Rio de Janeiro. But it must take place with organization and planning, taking into consideration the whole city, even those who do not participate in the revelry. The measures announced are positive,” he said.