Rio samba schools seek funding alternatives for Carnival 2018

Rio's samba schools are looking for new sources for the $4 million funding the local Rio government has withheld from Carnival 2018. According to Jorge Castanheiro, president of the samba schools' league, the funding cut has begun to impact the parade.

Castanheira said he is going to seek help from Marcelo Alves, chair of Riotur (the local tourist authority) to obtain funding from other sources than the municipal budget. One of the ideas is to seek funding from private businesses.

The country's financial crisis is putting off potential sponsors, but Marcelo Alves is confident they could make a deal. “I think this is a pointless controversy. Carnival is going to happen, I have no concerns about that. And it's going to be even bigger and better, I assure you,” he said.

Alves said Riotur is planning to take a different marketing approach with samba schools that could treble the revenue from sambadrome advertising. “There's potential for much more,” he said confidently.

Translated by Mayra Borges