The organizers of the carnival of Rio de Janeiro threatened its cancellation due to funding cuts
Earlier, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro Marcelo Crivella said that in 2018 will direct the organizers of the carnival only half of the amount allocated for the same purpose on the eve of the previous carnival.
RIO DE JANEIRO, June 15. /Offset. TASS Darya Yuryeva/. Carnival in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, which annually attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists, may not be held in 2018 due to the reduction of funding from the municipal authorities. This statement was made on Thursday, the Independent League of Samba schools (Liesa), which is responsible for the show.
On Monday, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro Marcelo Crivella said that in 2018 will direct the organizers of the carnival only half of the amount allocated for the same purpose on the eve of the previous carnival. Then each team that participated in the competition-the parade of the Samba schools, received from municipal authorities for 2 million reais ($610 thousand). The savings Crivella plans to allocate for financing of public educational institutions.
“At a time when schools (Samba) experience difficulties, and the mayor announces the new circumstances, we concluded that the reduction by 50% of the budget allocated for the preparations for the carnival and the implementation of the competition parade is unreal,” — said in a statement published on the website of Liesa. The organizers of the show added that I want to meet with the mayor to find a way out of the situation.
Competition-the parade of the Samba schools, which takes place in the sambódromo “Marques de Sapucaí”, is the Central event of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Participating in the competition teams — similar to the football teams are divided into leagues, the highest of which is a Special League. Its representatives — 12 Samba schools annually compete for the title of winner of the parade. The performance of each team will be evaluated by the jury consisting of famous public figures, musicians, actors, artists, architects and journalists.
Crivella, entered the office of the mayor of Rio de Janeiro in January of this year, does not hide his negative attitude to the carnival. The mayor came to the policy after leaving the service the pastor of the Evangelical Church. However, he did not abandon religious belief and to this day has no sympathy for the holiday, which has pagan origin, and accompanied by dancing in revealing costumes.
In February of this year Crivella appeared on the opening ceremony of the carnival, thus violating a long tradition of involvement of the mayor in this show.
According to Riotur, which is the structure of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, the competition-parade of Samba schools in the sambódromo “Marques de Sapucaí” and the massive costume parades in the so-called street carnival from late February to early March of this year took to the streets of the city 5 million 982 thousand 700 people. The number of foreign tourists arriving in Rio de Janeiro during the carnival, there were 1.1 million people.