Additional samba schools to parade at Rio Carnival tonight
Tonight (Mar. 3), four additional samba schools will parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome: Unidos da Tijuca, Beija-Flor de Nilópolis, Acadêmicos do Salgueiro, and Unidos de Vila Isabel. They will continue the parades of Rio Carnival's Special Group.
This year, for the first time, the performances of the 12 elite groups will be spread across three days (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday). Since its inauguration in 1984, the parades have traditionally been held over two nights (Sunday and Monday).
The first samba schools from the Special Group paraded on Sunday night (2). This year's parade kicked off with Unidos de Padre Miguel, a school from Rio's west zone, making its return to the samba elite after 53 years.
The next school to parade was Imperatriz Leopoldinense, from the Ramos neighborhood in the city's north zone. With nine titles in the elite group, their most recent win was in 2023.
Reigning champion Unidos do Viradouro, a red-and-white school from Niterói, is aiming for its fourth title.
Closing the first night of parades, Estação Primeira de Mangueira—the green and pink school from the Mangueira hill in Rio's northern zone, with 20 titles—hopes to lift the trophy once again after six years.
The final four schools will parade on Tuesday night: Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel, Paraíso do Tuiuti, Acadêmicos do Grande Rio, and Portela.
Evaluation
Each samba school has between 70 and 80 minutes to complete its parade and is judged on nine criteria: drums, theme song, harmony, evolution, storyline, allegories and props, costumes, front committee, and Master of Ceremonies and Flag-bearer.
Each category is judged by four judges, positioned in separate booths across the Sambadrome.
The champion among the 12 participants will be revealed on Wednesday (5), after the envelopes containing the scores from all the judges are opened.
The top seven schools will perform again at the Sambódromo during the Parade of Champions on Saturday night (8). The lowest-ranked school will be relegated to the access group (Gold Series) for 2026.
