Sambódromo

Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí
Bleachers of the Sambadrome
Show map of Rio de Janeiro Show map of Brazil Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí in Rio de Janeiro
Alternative names	Passarela Professor Darcy Ribeiro Sambódromo Sambadrome
General information
Type	Parade grounds
Coordinates	22°53′43″S 43°11′47″W / 22.89528°S 43.19639°W / -22.89528; -43.19639
Named for	Cândido José de Araújo Viana
Groundbreaking	1983
Inaugurated	1984
Renovated	2012
Owner	State of Rio de Janeiro
Dimensions
Other dimensions	570 metres (1,870 ft) in length, 12 metres (39 ft) in width
Design and construction
Architect	Oscar Niemeyer
Website
www.sambadrome.com

The Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí is a purpose-built parade area built for the Rio Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The venue is also known as Passarela Professor Darcy Ribeiro or simply the Sambódromo in Portuguese or Sambadrome in English. It is located in the downtown area of Cidade Nova in Rio de Janeiro, and is the place where samba schools parade competitively each year during the Rio Carnival. The parades attract many thousands of Brazilians and foreign tourists each year, and the structure is also used as a multi-purpose performance venue. The structures of the Sambadrome were designed by the architect Oscar Niemeyer (1907-2012), and represent his first major work after the end of the Brazilian dictatorship of 1964-1985.

The Sambódromo was commissioned in 1983 and completed in 1984. It is one of two works designed by Oscar Niemeyer upon his return to Brazil after exile during the Brazilian dictatorship of 1964-1985. The democratic election of regional governors, notably in the state of Rio de Janeiro in 1982, signaled a return to civilian rule and renewed work for artists whose work was suppressed by the regime. Governor Leonel Brizola, a longtime Niemeyer associate, commissioned the Sambradrome to reflect socialismo moreno, or multicultural socialism. Niemeyer worked closely with vice-governor Darcy Ribeiro (1922-1997), a Brazilian anthropologist, on the location and building concept. The Sambadrome was not only to function as the centerpiece of the Rio Carnival, but also house a primary school with 115 classrooms underneath the bleachers of the structure. Niemeyers's Praça da Apoteose (Apotheosis Square), a 90 metres (300 ft) trilegged arch, became a noted symbol of the Rio Carnival.

The Sambódromo consists of a 700 metres (2,300 ft) stretch of Marquês de Sapucaí street converted into a permanent parade ground with bleachers (grandstands) built on either side for spectators. Its capacity is 90,000. The parade avenue is painted gray each year before Carnival. The complex includes an area located at the end of the parade route, the Praça da Apoteose (Apotheosis Square) near the Morro da Mineira, where the bleachers are set further back from the parade area, creating a square where revelers gather as they end their parade.