The Sambodromo holds 20,000 people in a combination of luxury suites, box seats and grandstands. It's kind of like a straightaway at a racetrack. Each Samba School (the word "school" is more like "club" than learning institution) has 75 minutes to conduct their parade from one end of the Sambodromo to the other. There's a 15 minutes period for clean-up and to prepare for the next school.

Here's a bit of trivia: the Sambodromo was designed by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer as a facility to hold the two Carnival parades the Sunday night and Monday night before Ash Wednesday and the Parade of Champions the following Saturday night. Those are the only three nights a year the Sambodromo is used. If Rio get the 2016 Olympics the Sambodromo will be incorporated into the Marathon competition. My hotel is on Avenida Niemeyer.