The path to the Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2027 holds one of its first major public meetings in August. The traditional Night of Entanglements 2026 is scheduled for Friday, August 7th, from the 7pm, in Cidade do Samba, in Gamboa.
Organized by the Independent League of Samba Schools of Rio de Janeiro, the event will bring together the 12 groups of the Special Group in immersive presentations. Each school will take to the stage a preview of the universe it intends to develop in Marquês de Sapucaí in February 2027.
The program will have free entry, but access will be solidarity: each person must deliver 1 kg of non-perishable food. The opening will be the responsibility of the group Samba They Want, before school presentations.
The date can cause confusion: “Noite dos Enredos 2026” identifies the year in which the event takes place. The content presented, however, officially belongs to the Rio Carnival 2027.
Night of Entanglements 2026: quick summary
See the essential information to plan your trip to Cidade do Samba.
Friday.
Opening of the gates announced by LIESA.
Rua Rivadávia Corrêa, 60, Gamboa.
Donation of 1 kg of non-perishable food.
All associations in the Special Group.
Show before the presentations of the plots.
Independent League of Samba Schools.
Preview of the themes that will arrive at Sapucaí.
When and where will Noite dos Enredos 2026 take place?
The Night of Entanglements will be held in August 7, 2026, a Friday, with Cidade do Samba opening at 7pm. The complex is in Rua Rivadávia Corrêa, 60, in Gamboa, in the Port Zone of Rio de Janeiro.
The official name released by the organization is “Night of Entanglements – Rio Carnival 2027”. It is on that night that the public begins to visualize, in a more concrete way, the narratives announced by schools for the next parade season.
How to get into Noite dos Enredos for free
There will be no admission charge. To enter, the public must bring 1 kg of non-perishable food. The action transforms free access into a solidarity campaign and maintains a model already used by LIESA in other meetings held in Cidade do Samba.
Until this guide was updated, the organization had not informed the need for registration, online reservation or advance ticket collection. The official guidance published is to attend the location and hand over the donation at the entrance.
What to take
- 1 kg of non-perishable food per person;
- product within the expiration date;
- packaging closed and in good condition;
- personal document and charged cell phone;
- planning to arrive before the start of the schedule.
Pay attention to the meaning of “free entry”
Access does not have a cash price, but is subject to a donation informed by the organization. To avoid setbacks, do not arrive without the requested food.
What will be presented at Cidade do Samba
The purpose of Noite dos Enredos is not to reproduce the complete parades months before Carnival. The event functions as a first public translation of the themes: schools use the stage to reveal atmospheres, characters, references, visual ideas and narrative paths that will be further explored in the sheds, on the courts and in samba-enredo disputes.
LIESA announced immersive and playful presentations of the 12 schools. In the previous edition, the associations used resources such as music, dance, theater and scenic elements to summarize their projects. The exact form of each participation in 2026 will depend on the creation of each school.
Opening show with Samba Que Elas Querem
Before the groups take the stage, the public will have a show by Samba They Want. The female collective opens the night and reinforces a program that combines samba circles, celebration of popular culture and presentation of carnival projects.
In 2025, Noite dos Enredos brought together around 8,600 people and collected more than five tons of food. The result helps explain why the 2026 edition is treated as one of the first major public events of the 2027 Carnival season.
Which schools will participate in Noite dos Enredos 2026
All 12 schools in the Special Group have been announced. The list below follows the official order of the Rio Carnival 2027 parades and summarizes the theme of each association.
Sunday, February 7, 2027
Maricá Union
“Utopia Brazil: Darcy Ribeiro”
Carnival: Edson Pereira
The newcomer to the Special Group will pay tribute to Darcy Ribeiro and his vision on the formation of the Brazilian people, education and the construction of a fairer country.
Nilópolis Hummingbird
“Zeneida: The Breath of Laurel Dust”
Carnival: João Vitor Araújo
The Nilópolis school will present the trajectory of Zeneida Lima, shaman, writer and leader linked to the ancestral knowledge of the Marajó Archipelago.
Tuiuti Paradise
“Ciata: the Black Mother of Samba”
Carnival: Renato Lage
Tia Ciata will be celebrated as a central figure of Little Africa, samba circles and black cultural resistance in Rio de Janeiro.
United States of Vila Isabel
“Crooked Plow – the strongest will always live on earth”
Carnival players: Gabriel Haddad and Leonardo Bora
Inspired by the novel by Itamar Vieira Junior, the school will bring to the avenue a narrative about land, ancestry, quilombola resistance and spirituality.
Monday, February 8, 2027
Independent Youth of Father Miguel
“Latinantly Independent: Our North is the South in Remanifestation”
Carnival: Jack Vasconcelos
The plot proposes an affirmation of Latin American identity and questions Eurocentric views, inspired by the work “Inverted America”, by Joaquín Torres García.
Unidos da Tijuca
“The Head of the Saint”
Carnival: Lucas Milato
The school will adapt the novel by Socorro Acioli, a story of magical realism set in Ceará and crossed by faith in Santo Antônio.
Salgueiro Academics
“Laroyê Xica da Silva: the story behind the story”
Carnival performers: Jorge Silveira and Leonardo Antan
Salgueiro will revisit Xica da Silva to discuss the construction of her image and highlight the protagonism of a black woman beyond stereotypes.
Empress Leopoldinense
“The Memory of the King and the Disappearance of Dona Júlia”
Carnival: Leandro Vieira
The narrative begins with the disappearance of Dona Júlia, a giant sacred doll linked to the Maracatu tradition from Pernambuco, rediscovered decades later.
Tuesday, February 9, 2027
Portela
“To the Master, with Affection”
Carnival: Paulo Barros
The Majesty of Samba will pay homage to Monarco, composer, singer and one of the greatest references of the Velha Guarda in Porto.
Unidos do Viradouro
“Griô”
Carnival: Tarcísio Zanon
The 2026 champion will exalt the guardians of African memory and bring the oral tradition of the griôs closer to the transmission of knowledge present in samba.
Grande Rio Academics
“Sankofa Tabon: The Gold Coast Returnees and the Dark Star of Freedom”
Carnival: Antônio Gonzaga
The Duque de Caxias school will tell stories of freed Africans who returned to the Gold Coast region, in the territory of present-day Ghana.
Mangueira First Station
“Hey for Us”
Carnival: Sydney France
The green and pink will close the Special Group with a tribute to Oyá, or Iansã, associated with winds, storms, feminine strength and transformation.
Why Noite dos Enredos is important for Carnival 2027
A plot is not just a title. He guides the research, the script, the costumes, the allegories, the selection of images, the musical construction and the message that the school intends to defend on the avenue. Noite dos Enredos allows us to follow the moment in which these ideas begin to leave the paper and take shape in front of the public.
The meeting also occupies a strategic point on the calendar. The order of the parades was already drawn in April; school themes were announced; and the samba-enredo finals begin between the end of July and September. The presentation in Cidade do Samba connects these stages and increases expectations for what will be seen in Sapucaí.
For those who follow Carnival throughout the year, the night acts as a first communication test: which characters appear, which references move, which images can summarize complex stories and which paths schools wish to place at the center of the cultural debate.
For the less specialized audience, it is an opportunity to understand in advance what each group will sing and represent. This makes the experience of the 2027 parades richer, because it allows you to recognize themes, tributes and symbols when they arrive on the avenue.
The Night of Entanglements within the preparation for Sapucaí
Draw for the order of parades
The schools learned their positions in the three competitive nights of the Special Group.
Finals and releases of samba-enredo
The groups choose or present the musical works that will tell their themes on the avenue.
Night of Entanglements
The 12 schools present scenic previews of the Rio Carnival 2027 projects to the public.
Special Group Parades
The plots arrive in Marquês de Sapucaí in their complete form, with four schools per night.
How to get to Samba City
The City of Samba Joãosinho Trinta is located in Rua Rivadávia Corrêa, 60, in the Gamboa region. For events in the complex, Rio City Hall indicates the best option is VLT Line 1, with disembarkation at the station City of Samba/Tia Ciata.
By VLT
Use Line 1, on the Santos Dumont–Terminal Gentileza axis, and get off at Cidade do Samba/Tia Ciata station. The mode facilitates arrival from the Center and integration points in the Port Zone.
By car via app or taxi
Please provide the full address and agree on the drop-off point in advance. As the exit can gather a lot of people, it is worth arranging a visible meeting place and monitoring possible road blocks in the region.
By private car
The official announcement of the event does not indicate free parking. The region may experience traffic changes on busy days, so public transport tends to be the most practical alternative.
Checklist before leaving home
- check the latest update published by LIESA;
- take 1 kg of non-perishable food;
- plan to arrive before 7pm;
- save the address and VLT station;
- agree on a meeting point with the group;
- consider that the exit may be busy.