Mayor of Rio De Janeiro, Eduardo Paes has announced that this year's event will be cancelled due to rising cases of COVID-19 in the city.
The 2021 Carnival was originally postponed from this year's date of February 13-16 to start on July 9th.
"It seems pointless to me to imagine that we will have the conditions to hold Carnival in July." Mayor Paes wrote on Twitter, urging people to wait until next year.
The Rio Carnival is one of the largest festivals in the world, attracting millions of visitors to the city every year. Last year the carnival was held as normal just before cases of COVID-19 started to emerge in the country.
When Will the Rio Carnival be held in 2022?
As long as there are no other complications, the next carnival will be scheduled for February 25th – March 2nd in 2022.
Carnival in Other Cities
Similar festivities in other cities such as Sao Paulo and Salvador have also been postponed until July, it's likely they will be cancelled too, although no announcement has been made yet.
What is the Rio Carnival?
Rio De Janeiro's famous Carnival is a Christian festival to celebrate the last few days before Lent, the forty days before Easter that's usually accompanied by fasting, giving up foods and prayer. Performances and parades are often organized by local samba schools, a style of dance and culture associated with Brazil. As one of the most energetic and lively festivals in the world, Rio's Carnival is truly an experience of a lifetime.