On Sept. 24, the League of Samba Schools in Rio de Janeiro announced that the 2021 Carnival is indefinitely postponed. This announcement, coming months before the February event, will deeply impact the Brazilian economy and suggests that pandemic measures will likely stretch well into 2021.
Carnival, an annual celebration of performance, samba and Brazilian culture, usually occurs throughout February and culminates in a stadium parade organized by LIESA, the League of Samba Schools. While celebrations occur across Brazil, Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival is the largest in the world. The 2019 Carnival saw 1.6 million tourists visit Rio de Janeiro, with over 5 million people in total celebrating the festivities.
The Brazilian economy, already stagnant before the pandemic due to a weak labor market and worker strikes, will have to adapt for the loss of tourism that Carnival typically brings every February. Yearly, tourism accounts for nearly 8% of Brazil’s gross domestic product, with the 2019 Carnival accruing over $600 million in revenue. Carnival also adds around 250,000 temporary jobs to the Brazilian economy each year, providing employment opportunities in a country with some of the most extreme socioeconomic disparities in the world.
In a statement to The Associated Press, historian Luiz Antonio Simas detailed the way this decision affects workers. “Carnival is a party upon which many humble workers depend. The samba schools are community institutions, and the parades are just one detail of all that,” Simas said. “An entire cultural and productive chain was disrupted by COVID.”
With the 2021 Carnival indefinitely postponed, Brazil must grapple with economic ramifications while also struggling to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Jorge Castanheira, president of the League of Samba Schools, told Al-Jazeera that, “It’s increasingly difficult to have Carnival without a vaccine. There is no way to have Carnival without safety.”
Since Brazil’s first case of COVID-19 in late February, the country has failed to contain the virus’s spread. As of Oct. 2, Brazil is the world’s third-most affected country, with over 4.8 million infections and more than 140,000 deaths. Public health officials have clashed with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro as he designated COVID-19 as a “measly cold” in an effort to halt social distancing measures.
Over the coming months, further announcements will be made regarding the informal street parties that are a hallmark of Carnival celebrations. While the Brazilian government has not announced how lockdown measures will be implemented, some organizations have canceled their street festivities in advance of an official word.
The postponement of Carnival suggests that pandemic measures will roll over into 2021. Without a vaccine, large gatherings remain a public health risk, especially in parts of the world that have yet to slow the spread of the coronavirus. For the first time in over 100 years, Carnival may be canceled completely.
Sarah Leidich
is currently an English and Film major at Barnard College of Columbia University. Sarah is inspired by global art in every form, and hopes to explore the intersection of activism, art, and storytelling through her writing.