The drumbeats have finally faded at the Marquês de Sapucaí, bringing the competitive phase of the Rio Carnival 2026 to a dazzling close. Over two marathon nights of spectacle, the twelve elite schools of the "Special Group" transformed the Sambadrome into a riot of colour.
Later on Wednesday (18 February), the complex scoring by 36 judges will be read out at the Apoteose Square to crown the 2026 Carnival Grand Champion.
The champions' parade will be held on 21 February.
While the street parties (blocos) continue to pulse through Ipanema and Copacabana, the focus shifts to the technical verdict that will decide which community takes the coveted trophy back to the favelas.
For Brazilians and visitors, the street partying is an event not to be missed.
Local resident Telma Peori said, “We’re here fulfilling a dream: enjoying the Banda de Ipanema (Ipanema Band). The whole world is in Brazil. It’s sensational, it’s wonderful.”
Banda de Ipanema Drummer, Marcos Vinicius Santos Penha said taking part in the party is fun.
“I come from the age of tin percussion. I learned to play with a can, nobody taught me. It’s a gift that comes from my family, my father, you know? I have music in my blood. So to me, it’s very pleasing - I have fun and I also entertain others,” Marcos said.
Business woman, Luene Luciana said each year the party fun atmosphere is just a great way to make new friends.
"Carnival is a season to make friends because people get along well with each other and have fun, joke, make friends, so to me, it's wonderful."
Founded in 1965, the band is one of the classics of Rio's street Carnival and became an intangible cultural heritage of the city in 2004, according to Brazilian media.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei has ordered Iran's armed forces to respond to any threat immediately and without geographical li...
A tenth-grade student was critically injured after a man attacked her with a chainsaw inside a classroom in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur distri...
Cryptocurrencies are volatile, and their crashes make headlines. But does a slump in digital coins ever spill over into the pounds, dollars and eur...
The Middle East conflict remains tense as diplomatic efforts continue alongside renewed Houthi attacks. Iran says it remains open to mediation, while the Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the kingdom.
Evacuations and the provision of humanitarian aid in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky have begun, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. In a statement on Telegram, David Arakhamia said a six-day ceasefire was holding, and that more details would follow.
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the U.S. and Iran, according to an official briefed on the talks.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia remains willing to rebuild relations with European countries but warned that any wider conflict on the continent would leave no winners, as he commented on recent diplomatic contacts with Nordic leaders and growing security concerns in the Baltic region.
Hackers have pulled off a staggering $6.3 billion cryptocurrency heist targeting Binance, shaking confidence in one of the world's biggest digital asset exchanges and sending crypto prices tumbling. U.S. analysts suspect North Korea was behind the attack.
A tenth-grade student was critically injured after a man attacked her with a chainsaw inside a classroom in Andhra Pradesh’s Anantapur district. The girl suffered severe injuries to her head, neck and back, while a classmate who tried to protect her was also hurt.
Deep divisions over Russia's war in Ukraine overshadowed a G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta on Friday, as European officials criticised Moscow's participation and refused to join a traditional group photograph with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
The U.S. has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine in a deal worth an estimated $2.1 billion, but Kyiv could face years of delays before receiving the weapons it urgently needs to defend against intensifying Russian attacks.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global body responsible for monitoring money laundering and terrorist financing risks, has removed four countries from its so-called “grey list” after determining they had made sufficient progress in addressing weaknesses in their financial cr
The death toll from the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has surpassed 5,000, according to government figures released on Friday, as health authorities continue to struggle to contain the country's worst-ever Ebola epidemic.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment