Viradouro Wins Rio Carnival as Acadêmicos de Niterói Is Relegated After Pro‑Lula Parade

Overview

• Unidos do Viradouro took the 2026 Rio title with a perfect 270.0 points, returning for the Champions’ Parade on Saturday alongside Beija‑Flor and Vila Isabel.
• Acadêmicos de Niterói finished last and drops to Série Ouro after its debut‑year tribute to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, having earned only two top marks across the scoring.
• The school’s Lula‑themed storyline drew at least ten legal and administrative challenges before the parade, but Brazil’s electoral court unanimously rejected a bid to block the show as prior restraint.
• Conservative politicians and religious leaders denounced an Niterói segment labeled “neoconservatives in a can,” and opposition figures publicly celebrated the school’s relegation after the results.
• Carnival week also saw safety and conduct flashpoints, including a reported assault on journalists involving Grande Rio’s honorary president in Rio and the arrest of a 22‑year‑old suspect after a Salvador shooting that left a young woman blind in one eye.