Yesterday, the capital of Bahia kicked off the wonderful Carnival festivities. During the five days that followed, the city shall experience the greatest popular festivities in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records: Brazilian Carnival. The estimate is that at least 2 million happy revelers shall take to the streets, along the 25 km route of the three official Carnival Circuits (Dodô – Barra Ondina, Osmar – Campo Grande and Batatinha – Historic Center).
During the first day of Carnival, amid a stoppage by traffic wardens and construction workers, and also a threat of strike action by the Civil Police, representatives of the state and municipal governments took to the happy feelings and had to act so that these problems would not damage the concept of the city, as the event is one of the showcase events offered to FIFA as an example of organization for the possible choice of Salvador as the venue for the opening game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™.
In the circuit, everything was great – except for some of the special boxes and stands that were not finished due to the construction strike – but nothing that would tarnish the shine of the opening night.
On the passageway of happiness, erected in the neighborhood of Campo Grande in the city center, the King Momus, Edgar Passos, took command of the city. Next, on the official passageway, percussionists from the African blocos, Muzenza and A Mulherada, played their first notes, thereby announcing Momus’ reign.
In the meantime, in the more famous circuit, in Barra, the place boiled thanks to the presence of important names of Brazilian axé music, such as Durval Lélis, from Asa, Denny, from Timbalada and Saulo, from Banda Eva, and Tomate, among others. In the packed streets, the revelers known as popcorn (pipoca), who are those who have not bought the official abadá costume, divided the limited space, amid the strings of the blocos and the elegant boxes for VIPs.
Warming Up of Tourism
According to data released by the Secretariat for Tourism of Salvador City Hall (Saltur), who organize the Carnival, this year alone there shall be 244 different groups participating, 187 special boxes (camarotes), 95 attractions and nearly 200 hours of partying.
The city’s Carnival figures do not stop there, as a vast infrastructure is assembled around the party. This includes boxes, stands, Police stations, health stations and movable structures including 1,350 portable bathrooms.
The Momesque kingdom creates some 200 thousand temporary jobs, and gathers some 2 thousand professionals from the local, national and international press, promoting the capital of Bahia in 255 hours of television transmission (local and national), and generates some R$ 60 million (US$ 36 million) in spontaneous media, providing R$ 1 billion (US$ 600 million) in generation of business, according to data released by Saltur.
The party also attracts some 550 thousand tourists which should inject an additional R$ 500 million (US$ 300 million) in the economy of the Bahian capital. According to a survey conducted by FIPE, 33% of all tourists arrive through the airport. Some 80 thousand people come through the bus station, while 60 thousand people come through the Water Transport System, which includes the ferry-boat and the quick boats that leave from Itaparica Island. In addition, this year at least 24 thousand visitors shall come on 9 ships which are expected to dock in the Port of Salvador. The data has been released by the Bahia State Secretariat for Tourism.
According to Sílvio Pessoa, the President of the Trade Union which represents the hotel segment, the occupancy rate in the 22 main establishments of the Capital and the North Coast should be more than 90%. This occupancy also includes coastal destinations in the south of the State, such as São Paulo Hill, Itacaré, Ilhéus and Porto Seguro.
Lack of Mobility
With so many people in town, almost twice as many as normal, the Capital of Bahia has seen traffic chaos since the start of the week. Amid the stoppage called by traffic wardens and also the Municipal Guard, to pass along the main avenues has been torture for many.
Businessman Vinícius Silva, who works in the entertainment area and has a busy diary during this period, had to face a traffic jam of almost three hours to get from the airport to his office. “I took almost 3 hours for a trip that normally takes 40 minutes, just because of a broken-down vehicle on the road”, he said, annoyed. The businessman was referring to a trio elétrico (giant float) which spent the whole day broken down, blocking traffic flow on one of the main roads between the airport and the city center.
Another person to face problems was domestic worker Maria do Socorro, who waited more than an hour for her bus, going home after work. The bus companies only implemented their special Operation Carnival at the end of the afternoon, after the party had already started on the official circuits.
According to the Salvador Secretariat for Transport (Setin), the fleet, the lines and the timetables shall be modified to meet the needs of the revelers. A total of 2,430 buses shall be in circulation, operating 373 lines and with 11 terminals, including three terminals built specially for Carnival.
While the Salvador metro system does not start operation, another option of public transport, apart from buses, are the cabs. The Secretariat estimates that some 7 thousand cabs are in the streets, which shall make traffic even more chaotic close to the festivities.
Security Assured
Even with the attempted strike by the Police, the Secretariat for Public Safety (SSP) ensured that 22 thousand Police officers would be in the streets (19 thousand military police and some 3 thousand civil police). There shall be the installation of some 35 thousand police points and 125 raised observation points.
Secretary Maurício Barbosa, from the SSP, made the most of the press interview yesterday afternoon to publicize the technological structure to be used during the party. 120 cameras (movable and fixed) shall help the police to identify criminals and shall also map the critical areas in the circuits. In addition, there shall be 20 units of equipment for individual identification (Rapid – Id) available for use at the Civil Police stations.
The transmission of data (pictures and information, among others) shall be done quickly, safely and with quality, through the optical fiber network (with 25 km) installed on the circuits. The location of the units, police cars and trios, through the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) shall enable the rapid movement of the police forces whenever needed.
The police patrols shall also use smartphone mobiles, with access to databases of crime data and consultation of police records, warrants and vehicle restrictions. The Taser pistols (152 units), non-lethal weapons that emit electrical discharges, an innovation launched at last year’s Carnival festivities, shall reinforce the actions of the police, during police checks where the use of force is required.
The Police Interpreter, a new development at this year’s festivities, shall be easily identified within the corporation, thanks to an armband with the letter I imprinted together with the flag of the country speaking the foreign language he or she masters. Two helicopters and a motorized glider from the Military Police Airborne Corporation shall also be part of the vehicles used for transport, mappings and also rescue, should the need arise.
Under FIFA’s hawk eyes
The information is going round that representatives from the Local Organizing Committee are in Salvador to observe what happens behind the scenes of the organization of Carnival. The information thus collected would help to back up the decision made by FIFA about the possibility of having the opening of the World Cup in Bahia.
Information from the mainstream press has said that the city is a strong candidate. In a news article published last Sunday in the Folha de São Paulo, it was said that the opening of the World Cup could be divided into two events, the ceremony which could be in Salvador and the first game which would be in São Paulo.
Even though they would not confirm the COL schedule of appointments in Bahia, the Press Relations Department of the Special Secretariat for Affairs of the 2014 Brazil World Cup (Secopa) informed that there was an official invitation both to representatives of this institution, as also to Sports Minister Orlando Silva. During an interview to a local television station, secretary Ney Campello said that Carnival was a showcase and was being observed by FIFA, suggesting that the technicians were in town.
Another person who has already confirmed his presence in Salvador was the former player Ronaldo Phenomenon, a special member of the committee for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ in São Paulo. The player shall be on the trio elétrico of popular singer Cláudia Leitte.
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04/05 | News
