Rio street carnival 2027: the blocos

At a glance

What a bloco is

A bloco is a street carnival group with its own band and songs. It parades through a neighbourhood and anyone can join the crowd behind it. Some are small and local, others draw huge numbers, and each one has its own meeting point, time and route.

Blocos are the open street side of Rio Carnival. The samba school parades happen inside the Sambadrome with tickets and seats. Blocos happen in the streets, start in daylight in many cases and spread across the city for weeks.

Dates for 2027

The Prefeitura do Rio plans to open the 2027 street carnival on 16 January. It has not given an end date. For comparison, the 2026 street carnival ran from 17 January to 22 February, according to Riotur.

The Sambadrome dates are fixed already. Our page on the Rio Carnival 2027 parade order lists which school parades on which night, and Sambadrome tickets explains the seat types.

How blocos get on the official list

Blocos register through Riotur, the city’s tourism office. The final list is approved after checks by city services, the police and the fire brigade, and the last documents are due by 15 January 2027. That is why the official schedule with places and times appears only a short time before the start.

When we checked on 28 October 2026, no official 2027 bloco schedule had been published. We do not list “the big blocos of 2027” before the city does. Once the list is out, we pick blocos for your dates by size, neighbourhood and time of day.

The scale

In 2026 Riotur planned about 460 bloco parades and estimated about 6 million people on the streets over the street carnival. That gives you an idea of the crowds: a popular bloco fills whole avenues, and nearby roads close for it.

Getting around

Big blocos close streets. The 2027 traffic and transport plans have not been published yet, so here is what happened last year:

• In 2026 CET-Rio, the city traffic authority, published its Carnival traffic plan on 5 February, with closures around the main events. The city recommended the metro, trains, the VLT light rail and ferries.
• In 2026 MetrôRio ran 24 hours a day from 05:00 on Friday 13 February until midnight on Wednesday 18 February, and again over the Champions Parade weekend.

A private driver cannot get into a closed street, but can drop you at the edge of the closures and pick you up at an agreed point afterwards. We set that point with you and the guide before the day. More on moving around the city in Rio Carnival trip 2027.

Crowds, phones and official advice

Official travel advice for Brazil: the U.S. State Department rates it at Level 2, Exercise increased caution (issued 31 August 2026). The Government of Canada advises a high degree of caution and notes that petty theft goes up around parades, street festivals and Carnival. The UK FCDO advises against using a mobile phone in the street, especially between 4pm and 9pm.

What that means at a bloco:

• Carry the minimum: a copy of your passport, one card and a little cash.
• Keep your phone out of sight and check maps before you leave the hotel or inside a café.
• Agree a meeting point with your group before the bloco starts, in case you lose each other.
• Never leave a drink unattended.
• Plan how you will get back before you go in.

Our page on Rio safety tips collects the official advice in one place, with dates and links.

How we help

We do not run blocos. We plan your days around them:

• A guide who knows where the bloco starts, where to stand and how to leave it, in your language on request.
• A private driver who works around the road closures, with a drop-off and pickup point agreed in advance.
• Bloco choice once the official 2027 list is out: a neighbourhood bloco for a quieter afternoon, or a big one if you want the crowd.
• A Sambadrome night on top: seats, transfers and a guide. If you want to go further, see how to parade with a samba school.
• Hotels for your Carnival dates, booked early.

Our team answers in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Italian. Tell us your dates, how many people and what kind of Carnival you want, and we send a priced proposal within 24 hours.