(Sao Paulo) The mayor of Sao Paulo, Bruno Covas, announced on Friday the postponement indefinitely of the carnival of the largest metropolis in Brazil due to the coronavirus, while Rio de Janeiro is considering this option.
Posted on 24 July 2020 at 12 h 20
France Media Agency
“Both the samba schools and the carnival“ blocos ”(street parades, editor's note) understand the impossibility of organizing a carnival next February,” declared the city councilor, announcing the postponement of the most big party of the year.
The new date of the carnival has not been determined but it could be “at the end of May or the beginning of July” 2021, added the mayor of the city of 12 million inhabitants.
The State of Sao Paulo as a whole is the most affected by the pandemic which officially killed there 20 894 people and contaminated 452 007 in total.
The carnival in the city of Sao Paulo is one of the most important in Brazil. The last edition attracted 120 00 0 people to admire the samba schools at the Anhembi Sambodrome, while the “blocos”, these parades that roam the streets for several weeks, have attracted more than 15 millions of revelers, according to the mayor.
The party, which requires months of preparation, is also an opportunity for substantial financial returns for the municipalities.
In Rio, where a sumptuous parade with monumental floats takes place for the carnival that attracts millions of tourists every year, five of the main samba schools recently announced their wish to postpone until 2021.
These schools do not want a carnival until a vaccine has been produced against the coronavirus which has made more than 84 00 0 deaths to date in Brazil, infected more than 2.3 million people, and still progressing.
Barrier gestures are impossible during the carnival: each school parades with nearly 3000 costumed members, dancing tight against each other and singing throughout the procession, who lasts a little over an hour.
The city of Sao Paulo has already canceled the LGBTQ pride parade last June, one of the largest in the world, and postponed the March for Jesus from July to November, which also attracts millions of people.