The first plenary of the new management of the Independent League of Samba Schools (Liesa) held last Monday approved the three days of Rio de Janeiro Special Group parades at Carnival 2025. The website CARNIVALESCO found out how the vote went. Internally, the presidents were already aware of the possibility and received a range of information, including data collected during the last carnival and the ok from Rio City Hall, State and TV Globo, all ready for the approval of another day of the parades. Thus, the result of the vote was unanimous to include another date.
In addition to what was already mentioned by the president of Liesa, Gabriel David, the issue of no school not parading in the morning, damaging the use of the special lighting at the Sambadrome, which became a reference in the progress of the parades, the presidents learned that another day of parades in the Special Group attracts more revenue. Backstage, without confirmation from Liesa, there is speculation between R$1 million and up to R$2 million more per association. This revenue will undoubtedly come from sponsors, who gain another day of visibility, and, mainly, from the sale of boxes.
“Throughout the year we will explain everything that will happen. I know that changes are always sensitive, but I’m also sure that no one can imagine all the positive points. Believe me, the three days will be incredible. The change was directly influenced by what happened in the 2024 champions’ parade. There, there was an unforeseen event in the champions’ concentration on the last Saturday, which significantly delayed the last school to parade. Today, the lighting of the Sambadrome directly affects at least two aspects, such as Allegories and Fantasies, and indirectly a few more. When this happens and a school has to parade during daylight, it loses the direct impact of the light. This affects the result. We cannot allow this to have a chance to happen. Anyone who follows carnival, regulations and the competitiveness of schools knows exactly what I’m talking about. We are preserving the competition and ensuring that it has an identical scenario for all schools”, highlighted Gabriel David, in a video published on social media.
New distribution format for popular tickets
The inclusion of this extra revenue from another day of parades will reduce the value of grandstand tickets. It is possible that Liesa will work with ticket combos for the three days and also change the price for each day, which could cost half the price charged today. In the coming months, Liesa will present the ticket sales system for Carnival 2025 and a greater public presence at the Sambódromo, through “more popular prices”. A new distribution format for popular tickets.
“With three days we will further democratize going to the Sambadrome. We needed a greater number of tickets available for more people to have access to the parades. It’s a way we found to have a greater number of tickets available, since we don’t have the money and even the City Hall doesn’t have the resources to increase the Sambadrome’s capacity. Furthermore, the prices for grandstand tickets will decrease”, guaranteed Gabriel David.
Voting: closing of notes after each parade
Another definition in the plenary was the closing of the notes after each day of the parade. In this part the result was not unanimous, but it passed with ease. Eight schools were in favor, three wanted to maintain it after the last group passed, in the early hours of Ash Wednesday. One school suggested closing the envelope after each parade, but there was no support. Detail: as this is behind-the-scenes information, we will not inform the associations’ votes.
The presidents of the 12 samba schools of the Special Group will still meet in more plenary sessions to define other points of the regulations for the 2024 parades. It is still possible to change the minimum and maximum parade time, although TV Globo has reported that 60 and 70 minutes were maintained, the issue was not the subject of debate. The starting time for each parade was also not discussed, remaining for future plenary sessions. The number of members on the front committee was also not included in the discussion and will be studied in future meetings at Liesa.
Changed! Liesa changes the Special Group’s judging system at Carnival 2025
