RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio’s City Hall will not repress irregular blocks from parading, but there will be a fine to reimburse COMLURB for cleaning up the garbage left on the site. The information is from the Secretary of Healthy Aging, Quality of Life and Events of Rio, Felipe Michel, in a press conference yesterday, February 12th, to introduce the actions for Carnival, in the Cidade das Artes, west zone of the city.
The initial fine will be R$1,300 (US$325) and may be increased according to the volume of garbage. Michel further said that the block organizers will also be held accountable in the event of security issues or difficulties in the population’s mobility.
“It is not a carnaval of repression. It is a carnaval of organization, of planning and always thinking about the safety of the revelers and the population. Every block that parades without authorization must be responsible and know that COMLURB [Rio’s Sanitation Department] will sanction whatever occurs with regard to safety, mobility and all the services of the city. With all that leads to public insecurity, it will be held accountable because it is not an authorized block and is not part of the planning. There is no repression, there is planning,” said the secretary.
According to Riotur – Tourism Company of the City of Rio de Janeiro – on the weekend of February 8th and 9th, 270,000 people took part in 37 street blocks, a number that exceeds by three times the total of revelers last year. During the Rio 2020 carnival, 411 blocks are expected to parade, most of which in the southern zone (116). In the center, there will be 109, and 83 in the north zone. Tijuca, also in the north zone, will feature 53 blocks; 42 in the west zone and 38 in Jacarepaguá and Barrar.
Integration
The secretary said that planning for these parades has been set up, with the involvement of city and state government bodies, to provide greater security for revelers, residents, and tourists. “Authorized blocks count on COMLURB, CET-Rio [Traffic Engineering Company], SEOP [Public Order Secretariat], Municipal Guard, CCU [Urban Control Coordination], State Police and Fire Department. Unauthorized blocks have no support because they are not part of the planning”.
According to Riotur’s calculations, the events during Carnaval will gather seven million revelers. The city is expected to host two million tourists, slightly more than the 1.6 million in 2019. Riotur estimated that the economy will turn over R$40 million during Carnaval, while last year it was R$37 million.
Megablocks
The megablock display is restricted to the area of Antônio Carlos Avenue, downtown. Until March 1st there will be seven, including Fervo da Lud [by Ludmilla], Bloco da Preta [by Preta Gil] and Bloco da Anitta. The first was Carnaval Square by singer Claudia Leitte which took place last Sunday, February 9th.
The president of Riotur, Marcelo Alves, celebrated the security barrier scheme implemented around the megablock area, which proved to be a success on the first day. In all, there are 23 roadblocks set up by the State Police, Municipal Guard, and Public Order Secretariat.
According to data from the Secretariat of Events, there was a reduction in the number of crimes. In the first megablock last year there were 100, according to the State Police, while this year there were three in the internal area.
Secretary Felipe Michel intends to extend the scheme to other parts of the city for the performance of smaller blocks, which also attract large numbers of revelers. However, he admitted that this will not be possible this year. “Not over this Carnaval, because of the planning, not only by the city but also by the state government and private initiative,” he said.
Recommendations
During the press conference, Rio’s mayor Marcelo Crivella, Marcelo Alves and Felipe Michel urged revelers not to bring drinks in glass bottles to the events. “COMLURB did not collect any glass bottles [in the first megablock parade]. This is unprecedented. It clearly shows the significance of this security barrier with the city and state government agencies involved,” Michel said.
“At the municipal health department, we only had eight calls, but none from perforating material such as glass bottles, pocket knives, etc., so this is proof of the barrier’s effectiveness. It was a total success,” he said.
New Brand: People’s Carnaval
The president of Riotur announced the new brand created for the samba school parades of grades B, C, and D, on the Intendente Magalhães Road, in Campinho, north zone of Rio. It will be “Arena Intendente Magalhães. Carnaval do Povo”.
According to Alves, the region has had investments in the last three years, with improvements in lighting, sound cars, bleachers and in the concentration of associations. This year, schools will receive R$3 million in grants from Rio’s City Hall.
“This is direct money for the schools and they have already been paid 90 percent. It is all in place. The assembly [of the structures] is already starting and we will have a very efficient arena, with comfort and security so that we may host the Carnaval do Povo (People’s Carnival) there. An outstanding Carnaval”, said Alves.
App
Secretary Felipe Michel announced that, for the first time, Rio’s City Hall has developed an App that includes all the information about Rio’s Carnaval, including programming for the blocks, megablocks, Sambadrome, Terreirão do Samba. According to the secretary, the App will make life easier for tourists in the city: “All the information will be included in our Eventos.Rio App,” he said.
Also at the press conference, the mayor thanked the Bolsonaro administration for supporting the Sambadrome works, which cost R$8.1 million that had been passed on by the Ministry of Tourism. More steps were built in the bleachers that were remodeled, lamps were changed for more economical ones and new panels were installed to provide greater safety for the public.
According to Marcelo Alves, the firefighters’ inspection of the Sambadrome began yesterday and will continue until February 14th, the date set by the courts for the venue to be cleared for the parades. The president of Riotur hopes that if the Rio Samba School League (LIESA) wishes to conduct its technical rehearsal on February 16th, all will be in place.
“We are ready for the sound and light test event, which is up to the city hall. It’s up to LIESA to decide, but we hope to have this inspection and the final clearance by February 16th, which is a major mission, to have a final clearance and not only on time for events,” he commented.
Last year the failure of the Fire Department to clear the Sambadrome on the eve of Carnival caused apprehension due to the risk of the samba school parades not being held, a tradition of Rio’s Carnival.
Source: Agência Brasil