Marcelo OliveiraThe Grupo Especial 2027 parades at the Sambadrome on February 7, 8 and 9, with four schools per night, and the grandstand ticket cost R$ 250 per night (half-price R$ 125) in the August 2026 and September 2026 sales, through Ticketmaster, Liesa’s official seller. At the last check (09/28/2026), grandstands, chairs and frisas showed as sold out, with no official confirmation since then.
| Nights | Sunday the 7th, Monday the 8th and Tuesday the 9th/02/2027; Champions’ Parade on Saturday, 13/02 Order confirmed |
|---|---|
| Start times | Not announced; Liesa publishes them close to Carnival (in 2026, the first school entered at 10 pm) Not announced |
| Grandstand | R$ 250 per night, half-price R$ 125 (5th release, Sep/2026); sold out at the last check (09/28/2026), with no official confirmation since then |
| Frisa (6 people) | R$ 1,835 to R$ 10,200 per night, Pix only (same release of 09/10/2026); also sold out at the 09/28/2026 check |
| Camarote | From R$ 1,300 to R$ 5,900 per night, depending on the night (5 to 13/02, Aug/2026): compare the 10 |
| Where to buy | Only on Ticketmaster; named tickets, 1 half-price per CPF |
| Next sale | Popular grandstands in sections 12 and 13: date and price not announced |
In this article: who parades on each night, the price of each section, even or odd side for your first time, grandstand vs. frisa vs. camarote, what to do if it’s sold out, how to parade by buying a costume, and how to get back in the early hours.
🎭 Carnival 2027 · Carnival 2027 Guide · Rio Carnival · Where to stay
In this article · 11 topics
Pick your night by your school in the Sapucaí 2027 parade order, with Grupo Especial and Série Ouro by night.
Grupo Especial 2027: who parades on each night
The 12 Grupo Especial 2027 schools parade over three nights, four per night, in the order drawn by Liesa in April 2026 (Liesa). União de Maricá, Mocidade and Portela already had guaranteed positions under the rules: they open Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The top six return for the Champions’ Parade on Saturday, February 13. When and at what time the result that defines those six comes out: Rio Carnival 2027 results.
| Order | Sunday, 7/02 | Monday, 8/02 | Tuesday, 9/02 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | União de MaricáUtopia Brasil: Darcy Ribeiro | MocidadeLatinamente Independente | PortelaAo Mestre, com carinho |
| 2nd | Beija-FlorZeneida – O Sopro do Pó de Louro | Unidos da TijucaA Cabeça do Santo | ViradouroGriô |
| 3rd | Paraíso do TuiutiCiata: A Mãe Preta do Samba | SalgueiroLaroyê Xica da Silva | Grande RioSankofa Tabon |
| 4th | Vila IsabelTorto Arado | Imperatriz LeopoldinenseA memória do rei e o sumiço de Dona Júlia | MangueiraOyá Por Nós |
Plot summaries per the schools’ profiles on Liesa (Oct/2026). Viradouro, the 2026 champion, parades on Tuesday alongside Portela, Grande Rio and Mangueira, the most sought-after night; União de Maricá opens Sunday right after União de Maricá. Each school’s plot, carnival designer and drum queen are in the 2027 plot and drum queen profiles.
What time does the Grupo Especial 2027 parade start?
The 2027 start time has not been announced yet: the Liesa Parade Schedule page showed only the order as of 10/16/2026, and the league usually publishes times in January. In 2026, the first school entered at 10 pm and the others every 1h30, at 11:30 pm, 1 am and 2:30 am (Billboard, Feb/2026). If the pattern repeats, the last school finishes around 4 am.
In practice, first-timers arrive between 7 and 8 pm to pick a step in the grandstand, which is open seating within the section, and eat dinner beforehand: the whole night runs over eight hours. The 2027 gates and transport operation will also be announced close to the event.
Grupo Especial 2027 sections and prices
For Grupo Especial 2027, the special grandstand and the section 12 chair cost R$ 250 per night, with half-price at R$ 125, and the frisa for six people, from R$ 1,835 to R$ 10,200, in the 5th sales release, opened on 09/10/2026 (Liesa, Sep/2026). Earlier, two 2027 season options, now closed, opened sales: the Rio Carnival Passport, with all three nights, went for R$ 499 in March, and the Sambista Ticket, with the night chosen after the order draw, for R$ 230 in April (Liesa, Aug/2026). In Voyage Voyage’s October 2026 survey, a Grupo Especial night ranged from R$ 125 (half-price grandstand) to R$ 10,200 (the frisa closest to the runway), at September 2026 prices.
| Section | Price per night | What’s included | Side | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special grandstand, evenSections 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 | R$ 250, half-price R$ 125 (5th release, Sep/2026) | Concrete steps, open seating within the section | Praça Onze | Ticketmaster › |
| Special grandstand, oddSections 3, 5, 7 and 11 | R$ 250, half-price R$ 125 (5th release, Sep/2026) | Concrete steps, open seating within the section | Central do Brasil | Ticketmaster › |
| Individual chairSection 12 | R$ 250, half-price R$ 125 (5th release, Sep/2026) | Numbered seat | Even, near the Apoteose | Ticketmaster › |
| Popular grandstandSections 12 and 13 | Not announced; Liesa announced the sale “soon” (Sep/2026) | End of the runway, near the dispersal area | Praça da Apoteose | Follow updates › |
| FrisaUp to 6 people | R$ 1,835 to R$ 10,200 per frisa (Sep/2026), Pix only | Table and chairs at the edge of the runway, uncovered | Both sides | Ticketmaster › |
| Camarote | R$ 1,300 to R$ 5,900 per person, depending on the night (5 to 13/02, Aug/2026) | Open bar, food, shows and usually transfer | Varies | Compare camarotes › |
Source: Liesa sales announcements (Aug and Sep/2026). Section 9 was left out of the special grandstand sales. 5th release limit: two tickets per day per CPF and one half-price ticket in total. Availability: last check on 09/28/2026, with no official confirmation since then.
The half-price ticket applies to students, people with disabilities, people aged 60 or over and low-income young people, with ID at the entrance. For people with disabilities, Ticketmaster indicates accessible areas in even sections 2, 4, 6 and 8 and on the ground floor of 13; the companion enters on the same order.
Which section to choose for your first time: even or odd?
For your first time, choose the side by the route to your hotel and the section number by its position along the runway. Both sides see the same parade: even sections are on the Praça Onze station side, and odd sections on the Central do Brasil side. Crossing the Sapucaí in the early hours means going around roadblocks, so the wrong side can cost, by our estimate, up to 30 extra minutes on the way back.
| If you want… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| To see the school fully formed | Middle sections, 4 to 8 | Far from the staging and dispersal areas, where the parade passes in formation |
| Hotel in the South Zone | Even (2 to 10) | Metro Line 1 goes straight to Praça Onze |
| Hotel downtown or in Lapa | Odd (3 to 11) | Metro from Cinelândia or Carioca to Central do Brasil, about 3 stops |
| Not to fight for a step | Section 12 chair | Numbered seat, but at the end of the runway |
| To spend less | Popular 12 and 13, when they open | Cheaper, near the dispersal area, where the wings are already breaking up |
Before buying, open the official Sambadrome map: section numbers increase from the staging area, at the start of the runway, toward the Apoteose, at the end. In the grandstand, the upper part fills first, because it gives a view of the whole runway.
Grandstand, frisa or camarote: what actually changes
For the same parade, the grandstand delivers the crowd’s party at the lowest price, the frisa puts you a few feet from the runway and the camarote delivers comfort, food and drinks, with the runway seen from above. The choice is between excitement, proximity and service, not between seeing more or fewer schools.
- Concrete steps, open seating within the section
- Crowd singing the samba along
- Section bars and shared restrooms
- Table at the edge of the runway, uncovered
- Works out to R$ 306 to R$ 1,700 per person (Sep/2026)
- Pix payment only, 1 frisa per CPF per night
- Open bar and food all night
- Private restroom, shows and DJ
- Transfer in most; some are 18+ only
A frisa split by six costs less than many camarotes and puts you right by the front commission, but it has no cover, food or transfer. The camarote makes sense for those who want to arrive and leave in an organized way in the early hours. The ten camarotes, with what each includes, are in the Rio Carnival 2027 camarote guide.
Sold out: how to see the Grupo Especial without a grandstand ticket
With the grandstand sold out at the last check (09/28/2026), there are four real options. The first is to wait for the popular grandstand sale in sections 12 and 13, promised by Liesa. The second is the resale: Liesa states that tickets canceled for illegal resale go back on sale and that, in the previous cycle, this generated an extra sale in October (Liesa, Aug/2026).
The third is the Série Ouro, at the same Sapucaí, on the nights of February 5 and 6, from R$ 45 to R$ 65 (September 2026 price list). The fourth is free: the Grupo Especial technical rehearsals, with light and sound testing, on January 23, 24, 30 and 31, 2027, three schools per night starting at 7 or 8 pm. In 2026, the rehearsals drew around 360,000 people (Liesa, Sep/2026); check close to the date whether free tickets will be distributed.
When sales open and how to buy without falling for a scam
Grupo Especial 2027 sales are only through Ticketmaster, in releases announced by Liesa a few days in advance: there were sales in March, April, August and September 2026. In the general sale of 08/10, buying got hard after 30 minutes, and the virtual waiting room opens half an hour earlier, but entry into the queue is drawn at random: joining 5 or 30 minutes early makes no difference, what counts is already being logged in (Liesa, Aug/2026). The calendar for each Carnival sale is in the Carnival 2027 buying calendar.
The most common scam is the “VIP list” or the QR code sent by WhatsApp, paid by Pix to an individual. The official ticket is named, lives in the app, and guests are registered by the buyer on Ticketmaster itself: a screenshot won’t get you in. Liesa cancels tickets identified in illegal resale. More signs of fraud in the Carnival safety guide.
Can you parade in the Grupo Especial by buying a costume?
Yes, at schools that sell spots in commercial wings, open to the public and with the costume included. In Rio, the spot can approach R$ 10,000 at the most sought-after schools, and most are defined months before Carnival (CNN Brasil, Jan/2026). Bateria, passistas and choreographed wings require a tryout and mandatory rehearsal.
The way is to talk directly to the school, through the contacts Liesa publishes on each school’s page, and ask about the wings for sale. Check what the price includes, the costume pickup date, the meeting time and whether it must be returned afterward. A spot sold by third parties is a risk: the contract is with the school. Price, rehearsals, rules for foreigners and the return time are in the guide how to parade in a Rio samba school. For those who just want a bloco costume, ideas and prices are in the Carnival costume guide.
How to get to the Sapucaí, get back in the early hours and where to stay
The metro is the simplest way to the Sapucaí: Praça Onze station serves the even sections (MetrôRio) and Central do Brasil, the odd ones. In 2026, CET-Rio also indicated Cidade Nova and Estácio for the even sections, and the metro ran 24 hours on parade days. The 2027 operation will be announced close to the event.
By ride-hailing app, a ride that costs R$ 18 to R$ 35 can exceed R$ 60 to R$ 80 when the parade lets out (Revista Oeste, Feb/2026): take the metro to near your hotel and call the car from there. Times and return routes are in the guide how to get back from the parade.
Lapa and Downtown are the most practical base, with a well-rated hotel from R$ 7,728 for a couple’s five nights (Booking, 10/11/2026); the South Zone offers beach and a direct metro to Praça Onze, and costs more. The neighborhoods, with price per hotel, are in the guide where to stay for Rio Carnival. Coming from out of town, the flight to Rio from 5 to 10/02 on FlipMilhas rises every week near the holiday.
On your free days, leave the morning for Downtown, where Rio Carnival was born: a free walking tour of Downtown and Lapa fits in the afternoon before the parade, as long as you get back to the hotel to rest.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Grupo Especial 2027 ticket cost?
The special grandstand and the section 12 chair for Grupo Especial 2027 cost R$ 250 per night, with half-price at R$ 125, in the 5th sales release (Sep/2026), and the frisa for six people, from R$ 1,835 to R$ 10,200 (Sep/2026). Camarotes ranged from R$ 1,300 to R$ 5,900 per night, depending on the night between 5 and 13/02 (Aug/2026); at Lounge Carioca, for example, from R$ 1,590 to R$ 3,290 (Oct/2026).
Are there still tickets for Grupo Especial 2027?
At the last check (09/28/2026), grandstands, chairs and frisas for Grupo Especial 2027 showed as sold out on Ticketmaster, with no official confirmation since then. Liesa promised the popular grandstand sale in sections 12 and 13 and returns tickets canceled for illegal resale to sale; camarotes remained on sale.
Which is the best Sapucaí section for your first time?
The middle sections, 4 to 8, show the schools fully formed. Choose the side by your hotel: even near Praça Onze metro, good for those staying in the South Zone; odd near Central do Brasil, good for those staying Downtown or in Lapa.
What time does the Grupo Especial parade start in 2027?
Liesa has not yet announced the 2027 start time and usually publishes it in January. In 2026, the first school entered at 10 pm and the others at 11:30 pm, 1 am and 2:30 am, with the night ending around 4 am.
Can you parade in a Grupo Especial school?
Yes, by buying a spot in a commercial wing directly from the school. In Rio, the price can approach R$ 10,000 at the most sought-after ones (CNN Brasil, Jan/2026), and spots are defined months in advance. Avoid middlemen.
Is it worth going to Grupo Especial 2027?
It’s worth it for anyone who wants to see Rio’s 12 biggest schools, and Tuesday, February 9, brings Viradouro, the 2026 champion. What to do now: follow the section 12 and 13 sale and the resale on Ticketmaster, secure a hotel on the right side of your section and, if the grandstand doesn’t come through, switch to a shared frisa, a camarote or Série Ouro. The full city itinerary for the holiday is in the Rio Carnival 2027 guide.