Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE starting June 12 2026

Rio de Janeiro's Carnival is approaching - but will it bring Brazil together?

Rio Carnival 2018

A samba school display at Rio's carnival in 2018 Source: Getty / NurPhoto

Brazilians have lived through a momentous and exhausting few weeks. The election of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva as president - two decades after he first came to power - has split the country. So how does Brazil even begin to unite around its new president elect? We find out at a samba school preparing for the Rio carnival, which - along with football - is as close to a national cultural event as you can get.


Published

By Nick Miles- (BBC)

Source: SBS News


Share this with family and friends


Brazilians have lived through a momentous and exhausting few weeks. The election of Luis Inacio Lula da Silva as president - two decades after he first came to power - has split the country. So how does Brazil even begin to unite around its new president elect? We find out at a samba school preparing for the Rio carnival, which - along with football - is as close to a national cultural event as you can get.



Latest podcast episodes

Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world