Rio’s Carnival 2018 Raises Largest Private Investment in History

By Beatriz Miranda, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In 2018, Rio’s Carnival will be promoted with the sponsorship of Uber and Dream Factory, which together donated R$35 million to the world-famous event. Run by Riotur, this year’s Carnival will be organized with the largest private investment ever raised in history.

According to Riotur, the fund-raising for Carnival 2018 aims to make the event more self-sustainable. By attracting private capital, the City Hall would reduce the public expenses with Carnival and invest more in other sectors, like Health and Education.

The amount of R$35 million is planned to cover all the operational costs of Rio’s street carnival, including the structure for the “blocos”, the street stages and the outdoor free balls. The money will also be used to improve the event’s logistics: besides more efficient medical and informational services, five video-monitoring centers will be installed in the city.

In addition, part of the money raised will be invested in the Samba School’s parade, one of the most expected attractions of Rio’s Carnival. In total, LIESA, the Samba Schools’ League, will receive R$27.5 million to organize the spectacle, including R$8 million from the Ministry of Culture (R$3.5 million more than last year).

“This result makes all of us very proud, especially because it is the outcome of our hard work and the partnership between private and public sectors. Our mission is to attract sponsors to boost Carnival’s marketing potential. And we ain’t stopping: until Carnival itself, we’ll be looking for even more investors. We want this to be the greatest Carnival of all times”, says Marcelo Alves, Riotur’s president.

The agreement between Riotur and Dream Factory foresees the investment of R$74.4 million from the latter until 2020, which consists in R$24,8 million for each of the next three Carnivals. Part of the amount will be donated in services, with Dream Factory offering, for example, 32,500 portable toilets in 2018 Carnival (1,500 more than in 2017).

“Carnival is a cultural heritage that can never die. It is part of the Carioca experience. I hope next Carnival will be as good as the previous ones, but safer and cleaner,” says Alejandro Pérez, Argentinian musician and Rio resident since 2015.