RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rio’s Governor Wilson Witzel announced that he would like to extend the samba school parade to three weeks and has now decided to release R$8.1 million (US$2 million) to renovate the Sambadrome ‘Marquês de Sapucaí’ in Rio de Janeiro, according to O Globo newspaper.
The state’s help came together in a meeting last Tuesday between Rio’s Mayor Marcelo Crivella, the president of Riotur Marcelo Alves, and the president of the Rio State Legislative Assembly (ALERJ), deputy André Ceciliano, who arranged the meeting with Witzel.
The emergency work should be ready by January 30th. New switchboards and fire extinguishers will be purchased, workers will make new signage for emergency exits. Other more complex interventions, such as the creation of new emergency exits for the public, should be left for after Carnaval.