2021 Rio Carnaval canceled

The 2021 weeklong celebration of Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, scheduled for Feb. 12-17, was canceled on Sept. 24 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rio’s Carnaval has not been canceled since 1912, having weathered a flu pandemic, two world wars and a military dictatorship.

Brazil’s first confirmed case of COVID-19 was discovered one day after Carnaval ended in 2020. That festival attracted five million locals and two million foreign visitors.