Better to be safe than sorry, so despite the fact that Omicron may be on the decline in Brazil by the end of February, when carnival should take place, the sensible decision has been taken to delay the main carnival parades in both Rio and São Paulo until the Tiradentes holiday weekend in April.

So the main parades in Rio will now take place on Friday, 22 April and Saturday, 23 April and all tickets purchased for February will be valid.

The move to April may be good for international visitors as few will have booked for February given the global uncertainty with the pandemic.

Imperatriz, Mangueira, Salgueiro, São Clemente, Viradouro and Beija-Flor will parade on the first night with Paraíso do Tuiuti, Portela, Mocidade, Tijuca, Grande Rio and Vila Isabel going on the second night.