Sao Paulo , Brazil » Entertainment » Festivals

The city of Sao Paulo hosts plenty of events and festivals all around the year. The carnival is the main festival that attracts millions of tourists every year.

Carnival:

The carnival of Sao Paulo city is getting a lot more popular amongst locals and tourists every year. Though it is less reputed than Rio's carnival, Sao Paulo still offers a colourful, joyful and crazy atmosphere during the carnival days. The main attraction of the carnival is samba school performances that make the carnival nights more cheerful. Furthermore, some unofficial parades and festival events are organised all over the city at this time of the year.

Sao Paulo Art Biennial: (Visit)

This cultural event is hosted every two years by the Museu de Arte Moderna. It offers an international exhibition of art that attracts attendants from all over the world. The invited artists and the visitors come together at a spacious Oscar Niemeyer Pavilion to emphasise the theme of the overall exhibition.

Electronic Language International Festival: (Visit)

The Electronic Language International Festival (FILE) organises exhibitions, debates, lectures, and courses to disseminate and develop arts, technologies, and scientific research. This non-profit cultural organisation promotes a yearly meeting in Sao Paulo which is open to the public. The festival includes web and net art, artificial life, computer animation, real-time teleconferences, virtual reality, panoramas, interactive movies, e-video, electronic art installations, and robotics.

Achiropita Festival (Festa da Achiropita):

Festa da Achiropita is a traditional Italian festival organised by the local church "Paroquia de Nossa Senhora da Achiropita". During this festival, people taste various food dishes selling Italian food, sweets and snacks along two streets in a traditionally Italian neighbourhood, Bixiga.

Sao Paulo Fashion Week:

The city of Sao Paulo hosts one of the most important fashion weeks in the world. Established in 1996 under the name of Morumbi Fashion Brazil, it is well-known as the biggest and most important fashion event in Latin America. Brazil's top models and some upcoming talents can be watched here.

March for Jesus:

This event is held on Corpus Christi Thursday of every year in Zona Leste. It is an Evangelical parade organised by the "Rebirth Church". The popularity of the festival has grown significantly in the first decade of the 21st century. According to the official estimates, the event was celebrated by about 1 million people in 2007. The festival features parades, live concerts and much more accompanied by cheerful people.

Sao Paulo International Film Festival: (Visit)

Sao Paulo's International Film Festival (internationally known as Mostra) is an annual event held in the city that has achieved international status as a premier event. The festival features many movies, short films, lectures, and workshops with today's top filmmakers. The organisers usually arrange a retrospective of one or two filmmakers' works.

F1 Brazilian Grand Prix:

Sao Paulo hosts a final race of the Formula One season at the famous Interlagos Circuit. F1 racing is the king of motorsports competitions that offer some exciting races every year. This colourful and most thrilling event attracts thousands of visitors from all over the world.

Address: Autodromo de Interlagos, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

International Convention of RPG:

Every year, the country's biggest RPG (Role Playing Game) event is organised by the "Devir Livraria," i.e. Bookshop Devir. The events are usually arranged in parks or big convention spaces. People can visit lots of stands hosting international and Brazilian RPG editors, fan clubs and Comics. Also, it offers the stage for seminars about RPG, fantasy and science-fiction related theme games.