By Ciara Long, Contributing Reporter
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Those who missed out on buying tickets when they were first released now have a second chance to watch the city’s finest samba schools perform in the Sambódromo. Following an announcement by the League of Independent Samba Schools, LIESA, 14,000 tickets will be released for re-sale to watch this year’s Carnival parade competition.
Tickets were originally released for sale on January 14th, with payment due the following weekend. LIESA is re-releasing these selected tickets due to not receiving payment on time from original purchasers.
Eight thousand of these tickets will be reserved for those living in Rio’s Metropolitan area, while six thousand will be for those living outside of the city.
Seats in sectors 11, 12 and 13 of the Sambódromo are sold out, but space in other sectors of the arqibancada (bleachers) are still available. Rodrigo Braz Vieira, director of local tourism company Bravietour, recommends sectors 3, 4 or 5 if they are available.
“Those are the stands where the local people go, and they follow with great enthusiasm their favorite samba school, singing, dancing and commenting about the curiosities,” Vieira told The Rio Times.
Those wishing to attend can purchase tickets directly from the Sambódromo throughout this week, from Monday, January 30th to Friday, February 3rd between 10AM and 4PM. Re-sale tickets cost between R$220 and R$330, and must be paid in cash.
Tickets to watch Rio’s top samba schools compete in the Carnival parade competition will also be available closer to the time from tourism and travel agencies within the city, although will normally have a higher price and charge an administration fee.