Rio de Janeiro’s samba-school production complex, opened in 2005, is called Cidade do Samba.
Cidade do Samba is a purpose-built complex in the Gamboa area of Rio de Janeiro. It provides large workspaces where samba schools create floats, costumes, scenery, and other elements for Carnival. The facilities were designed to give schools safer and more suitable production areas than many of the scattered workshops previously used across the city.
The complex is especially important because Rio’s parades depend on enormous visual structures. Building a float or a large costume involves carpentry, metalwork, painting, sculpture, sewing, and decoration. These activities continue for months before the parade itself.
Cidade do Samba is often confused with the Sambadrome. The Sambadrome is the parade avenue and spectator venue, while Cidade do Samba is primarily a production and cultural complex. Terreirão do Samba is another Carnival-related performance space, but it is not the same facility.