Top 10 Interesting Facts about Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai

Aerial photo Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí, photo by Diego Baravelli. Wikimedia commons

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai

The Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí is a purpose-built parade area built for the Rio Carnival Rio Carnival in Brazil. The venue is also officially known as Passarela Professor Darcy Ribeiro or simply the Sambódromo or Sambadrome in English.

The initial design of the venue was done by Oscar Niemeyer. He was a renowned Brazilian artist who was a key figure in modern architecture. The construction of the venue was to accommodate the large crowds during the Carnival events.

The Sambradrome consists of 700 metres stretch that was converted into a grandstand to hold a capacity of up to 90,000 people. Other than the Rio events the venue has also been used to hold concerts. Several artists have performed on the grounds.

1.The Sambradrome was initially designed by Oscar Niemeyer

The commissioning of the Sambradrome was done in the year 1983 and completed in a year. Oscar Niemeyer took up the task to design the area.

Oscar is a renowned Brazilian architect who was considered a key figure in modern architecture. It only took up the task after the Brazilian dictatorship between the years 1984 to 1985.

Niemeyer’s initial designs showed a perfectly symmetrical structure, with individual concrete sections, called sectors, spread equally along what would become the Samba runway. The commissioning of the place was later on done by Leonel Brizola, a Niemeyer associate.

The commissioning of the venue was as a means of providing the city of Rio de Janeiro with an urban venue to serve as the permanent grounds for the annual spectacle of the Parades of Samba Schools during Carnival.

2.The venue has hosted several Olympics

The venue hosted the 2016 Olympics which is also known as the Rio 2016. The event is a multi-sports event that is usually held between 5^th to 21^st of August.  For the Rio 2016 the venue hosted Archery and the athletics marathon.

The archery events took place at the Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai. There was a total of 128 athletes complete across the four events; men`s individual, women`s individuals, men`s teams and women`s teams.

An Old Brahma beer factory was demolished to build bleachers on the site to increase the capacity of spectators during the event. This increased the capacity to around 18,000 seats.

3.The Sambadrome is officially known as the Passarela Professor Darcy Ribeiro

Going down history, the Sambadrome was officially named after a former Brazilian Minister of Education and Cultural secretary. The venue is officially named Passarela Professor Darcy Ribeiro.

The venue was named after him because he was instrumental in advocating for the construction of the venue. The venue holds the annual samba school parades which are completed during the Olympics.

The event is aimed in devoting practices and exhibiting samba, an African- Brazilian dance and drumming style.

4.The Olympics have taken place in the venue since its completion

Archery competition at the Sambadrome, photo by Jorge mello ej. Wikimedia commons

The festival of Rio Carnival has taken place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil since the early explorers first discovered the New World. Historians largely agree that the first known record of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro took place in 1723.

From that year on, Rio Carnival grew bigger and bigger until it eventually became a defining symbol of the Marvelous City of Rio de Janeiro. 

As more and more settlers brought their traditions with them from Portugal to Brazil, the pre-lenten festivities of Carnival developed a new form that would mark a new form Carnival expression unlike any other in the world.

5.The Carnival tradition of Zé Pereira was introduced by José Nogueira de Azevedo

Carnival at Rio, photo by Agência Brasil/Marco Antonio Cavalcanti. Wikimedia commons

The Carnival tradition of Zé Pereira was introduced in the middle of the 1800s by a Portuguese shoemaker named José Nogueira de Azevedo. The Zé Pereira was organized by Azevedo and his friends.

In the event, people take to the streets marching, parading, drumming and whistling while playing on the tambourines. The parade has now become a major part of the Carnival in Rio.

From that moment forward Carnival parades developed into something greater than anyone could have imagined.

The first official Rio Carnival parade took place in 1935 at Praça Onze, and remained at that location for 30 years until it was moved to the Avenida Presidente Vargas and finally to the Marquis de Sapucaí, where it remains today.

6.The venue was built accommodate the annual Rio events

Rio de Janeiro – Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí, photo by Jarod Burns. Wikimedia commons

The construction of the Sambadrome saw the conversion of 700 metres of the Marques de Sapucai Street into permanent grandstands.  The area was built in for spectators of the events that were to take place in the venue.

The venue holds up to 90,000 people. In preparation of the evens the avenue is painted gray. Other bleachers are also set at the end of the parade route near the Morro de Mineira. This creates a square where revelers gather at the end of the parade.

The precise design of the venue was to accommodate the events that happen annually in the area. The area also provides humble sitting areas for spectators of the event. The venue has also been used for major concerts.

7.Several artists have performed in concerts held at the Sambadrome

Several concerts take place at the event outside the Carnival season. The Apotheosis Square is occasionally used as a major concert venue in Rio de Janeiro.

A few of the artists who have performed in Apotheosis Square of the Sambadrome include Roger Water, Eric Clapton, Black Eyed Peas, Whitney Houston, Avril Lavigne, Janet Jackson, Iron Maiden and Dj Snake.

The list of artists who have performed at the venue is endless as the venue offers a conducive area to hold large crowds.

8.The Sambadrome is home of the Rio Carnival Sambadrome paradise

Rio de Janeiro, photo by Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil. Wikimedia commons

The Sambadrome hosts the annual parade of Samba Schools in Brazil during the famous festivals of the Rio Carnival. Each of the Samba schools has about 75 minutes to parade from one end to the other. Each school presents its own unique traditions in the process.

After the school competitions, grading is made by an impartial jury and a winner declared. The parade of champions is thereafter held the following Saturday where the five winner schools are featured.

The Sambadrome parades are important events in the Carioca calendar and are not merely fan and games.

9.An upgrade was made on the Sambadrome in preparation of the 2016 summer Olympic

During preparations and old Brahma beer factory nearby was demolished and extra bleachers built in to accommodate the crowd. This initiative made increased the capacity by around the same 18,000 seats.

This vision was to make the Sambadrome complex symmetrical. The venue was later on reopened on the 12^th of February 2012. In attendance was Eduardo Paes and architect Oscar Niemeyer.

10.At the end of the parade route is the Apotheosis square

The Apotheosis square is located near the Moro de Mineira.  The Apotheosis is part of the Sambadrome which holds approximately 90,000 people. For the concerts the venue may hold up to 10,000 to 40,000 people.

The venue was also designed by the well- known Oscar Niemeyer in the year 1983. The Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí is a purpose-built parade area built for the Rio Carnival Rio Carnival in Brazil.

Other than the venue being used for Rio events, it has been used for several concerts. This has been possible by the huge seating available at the venue.