Carnival Balls

Dances – Rio Carnaval

Find out all about the carnival balls in Rio de Janeiro: Scala Rio, Hotel Copacabana Palace and other places with schedules and tickets.

Tickets – Rio de Janeiro Carnival Balls

Rio de Janeiro, as the City of Carnival, offers a wide selection of Carnival balls. You won't have to spend a fortune to have an unmissable moment.

Costumes for most Rio Carnival balls are not mandatory, with the exception of some balls. Wearing one will help you get into the party mood and make the night even more special.

An outline of the history of Rio de Janeiro's Carnival Balls

The origins of Rio's Carnival balls can be traced back to the famous masked balls of another Carnival capital of the world: Venice, Italy.

It was in 1840 when Clara Delmastro, the wife of the Italian ambassador to Rio de Janeiro, decided to create her own pompous Venetian-style carnival ball at Teatro São Januário. It was a huge success right away, with 1,000 participants in the same night. Similar events soon followed suit, and it became customary here in the new world, Rio de Janeiro, to hold balls during Carnival, where the main hotels and establishments organized large events and ostentations.

The Copacabana Palace Hotel was the most prestigious venue in the city, where all the balls were crowned, bringing the balls to their zenith, bringing international attention to the Rio Carnival balls. In 1993, after Copacabana Palace was purchased by Grupo Orient-Express, luxury fancy dress balls were reinvented. He has again become and remains the epicenter in the world of Carnival in Rio, with his Magic Ball, the luxury ball in Rio. “Just keep going”, recalls the glamor of a golden age.

The city's Official Gala Ball at the Municipal Theater was another ball that became an institution in the Carioca Carnival scene. The first edition, in 1932, already received 4,000 guests, including Vargas, then president of Brazil. The dance at the famous theater continued until 1975, when experts concluded that the sound was damaging the structures of the historic building. It soon had to change locations and finally closed in 1991.

Over the years, the culture of dances and nightclubs spread throughout Brazil, which had already evolved a lot and significantly increased in size, becoming the world capital of Carioca Carnival. In the 70's and 80's, balls appeared in popular venues throughout the city, bringing some idiosyncrasies transformed by Brazilians, offering feijoada dinners. Today, Scala Rio is the main organizer of the nightclub, with its themed balls during the Carnival season. With the Gay Gala as the highlight, followed by the Cidade Maravilhosa dance.