Rio de Janeiro, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- Brazilian Minister of Tourism Celso Sabino and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes jointly handed over a golden key symbolizing the city's management power to the "Carnival King" at the Rio Mayor's Palace on the 9th, marking the official opening of the 2024 Rio Carnival.
The handover of the golden keys is a traditional ceremony that is launched every year at the Rio Carnival, symbolizing that the entire city is taken over by the "Carnival King" during the festival, whose task is to lead the citizens and tourists in singing, dancing and carnival together with the "Queen" and the two "princesses" in various carnival events.
Brazil holds this year's G20 presidency, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro in November. "The 2024 Carnival will be very big and the world is looking to Rio, the capital of the G20," said Mayor Paes. We encourage samba schools to bring wonderful performances, and we also support all street performance groups, so that the celebration of carnival can drive the city's economy. "Tourism Minister Sabino expects more than 49 million people to participate in the carnival this year, about 6 more than last year5%。
According to the official schedule of the carnival released by the Rio Municipal Tourism Office, on the 9th and 10th, eight teams from the samba school of the first division will hold a parade of floats on Samba Boulevard; The samba school performance, which best represents the level of the Rio Carnival, will be held on the 11th and 12th, with a total of 12 teams participating this year. On the 17th, the top 6 teams of the Grand Samba School will return for a championship parade to announce the end of this year's carnival.
The Rio Carnival is the largest and most internationally renowned carnival in Brazil. During the festival, in addition to the performances on Samba Avenue, more than 450 street parades will take place throughout the city. In addition, Brazilian cities such as São Paulo, El Salvador, and Recife also hold grand carnival celebrations at the same time. (ENDS).