Carnival in Rio de Janeiro (port. carnaval carioca, carnaval do Rio, Rio carnaval) is an annual carnival, where most of the population dresses in different costumes and takes to the streets. It is held for five days: from Friday to Tuesday before Lent in the largest city of Brazil.

Sequence and grades
The sequence of individual parades of the “special group” is determined by lot. In just two days of the carnival, on Sunday and Monday, six schools perform. The number of speakers in each of them ranges from three to five thousand. Participants who perform on 5-8 cars are divided into groups of up to forty. According to safety regulations, machines can only be operated manually. Each group performs for 82 minutes (as of 2009). Time violations are worth points.
Evaluated, among other things, are the rhythmic accuracy of the percussion, as well as the coherence of singing, percussion and dance, the artistic embodiment of the theme, the performance of the female standard bearer (porta estandarte, who traditionally leads each procession along with the “master of ceremonies”) and the overall cohesion of the school performance.
The stand of the Sambodromo (pt:Sambódromo) in the Estácio district (pt:Estácio) can accommodate approximately 88,500 spectators. The parades begin at the arena 800 meters long at 21:00 and last on holidays for 10:00.
On Ash Wednesday, 40 arbitrators, four in each of the ten scoring categories, broadcast live on television channels throughout the country. The victory celebration is celebrated like a world football championship with fireworks and festivities of the winning school. Participants who take second and third place also receive cash prizes.

Street festivals
During carnival, street festivals are very popular and very crowded with locals.

Preparation
Preparations for next year’s carnival begin immediately after the parade. Thousands of professionals take part in each league. Private sponsors take on the high cost of creating costumes for each performer, but the latter have to cut corners and deny themselves everything.
A small carnival museum in the “sambadrome”, which is open to visitors throughout the year, tells about the traditions and details holding a carnival.
Also famous, musically, perhaps even more interesting is the carnival in the city of Salvador da Bahia, considered the largest street carnival in the world, as well as in Recife.

Negative side effects
During the carnival, due to the influx of tourists, there is an acute shortage of places in hotels and an increase in housing prices. Many Cariocas (port. Cariocas, residents of Rio) leave the city during the carnival to spend time with their families in peace.
The supposedly elevated crime rate in the city during the carnival, often cited in the press, is somewhat relative. The appearance on the streets of the city of millions of celebrating and drinking people inevitably leads to an increase in tension, which can turn into crime. The international media especially use the time of the carnival in Rio as an opportunity to report more intensively than usual on crime, which is just as high during the rest of the year.