The Helsinki Samba Carnaval is an annual

samba Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...

carnival held in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, the capital of

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, since 1991. The carnival takes place on the weekend in early to middle June, normally close to the

Helsinki Day Helsinki Day () is an annual celebration in Finland, held on 12 June, to celebrate the city of Helsinki. The number of attendees in the events on the day exceeds one hundred thousand. On the day, the Helsinki Medal is awarded to noteworthy citize ...

on 12 June. Unlike the

Rio Carnival ) , image = File:Desfile Portela 2014 (906185).jpg , caption = A float at Rio Carnival, 2014 , celebrations = Parades, parties, open-air performances , longtype = cultural, religious , type = christian , signi ...

, it is not possible to hold the carnival in January through March, because like many other places in northern Europe, the outdoor temperature in Helsinki is far too low at that time.

History

The carnival lacks a proper historical tradition. It mostly grew from experimenting and organising, but was still influenced by

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian traditions. In 2007, Tarja Halonen,

President of Finland The president of the Republic of Finland ( fi, Suomen tasavallan presidentti; sv, Republiken Finlands president) is the head of state of Finland. Under the Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the Finnish Government and the p ...

at the time, participated in the event. The organisation responsible for the event is the Finnish Samba School Association (in Finnish: ''Suomen Sambakoulujen Liitto''). It organized the samba carnival for the first time in 1991 in

Turku Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; ...

, but since 1993, Helsinki has been established as the official carnival location. The association has been awarded the esteemed Insignia of the Order of Rio Branco by the Federative Republic of Brazil.PRESS: The Organizer of Helsinki Samba Carnaval®, Association of Samba Schools in Finland, Receives International Recognition
– Helsinki Samba Carnaval

Samba schools

Império do Papagaio at Helsinki Samba Carnaval 2014

*Império do Papagaio from

*Força Natural also from Helsinki *Carioca from

*Maracanã from

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

*El Gambo from Kokkola *Tropical from

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bru ...

*União da Roseira from

Tampere Tampere ( , , ; sv, Tammerfors, ) is a city in the Pirkanmaa region, located in the western part of Finland. Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries. It has a population of 244,029; the urban area has a population o ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Samba Carnivals in Finland Festivals in Helsinki Recurring events established in 1991 Samba Summer events in Finland