Commanded by Léo Santana, a leading Brazilian singer, Bloco da Gold street party marked the opening of the third weekend of the 2025 Rio Street Carnival, attracting around 200,000 people on Saturday morning at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

According to a press statement by Riotur, the tourism promotion organisation of Rio de Janeiro, the concert was held at the megablock circuit on Rua Primeiro de Março, in downtown Rio.

From the top of the float, GG da Bahia, as he is called by his fans, led the crowd like a maestro, to the sound of some of his hits from Bahian pagodão, such as “Contatinho”, a song he made in partnership with Anitta, “Perna Bamba” and “Zona de Perigo”.

The statement adds that the concert was an absolute success as Léo Santana made Primeiro de Março shiver in the scorching heat. Starting at 07:00, the party had a repertoire full of songs from other Brazilian rhythms.

“Rio is the city that knows how to throw carnival, whether on the streets or in Sapucaí. Imagine when it combines with Salvador? This combination can only work,” says Kaio Mackenzie, who was elected King Momo or the King of the Carnival 2025.

The statement adds that among the revellers, a Léo Santana lookalike stood out in the crowd with his 1.94 m height. A declared fan of the singer from Bahia, the man said that his dream is to meet the artist.

A band dressed as Justice League at Rio Carnival 2025 (Photo: Alex Ferro/Riotur)

In addition to the megabloco, the morning party also featured the Desliga da Justiça block, at Praça Tiradentes, downtown, with several revellers dressed up as heroes and villains from comics and movies. The president of the group, Leandro Monteiro, says that it started in 2009, with a meeting of drummer friends from other blocks, at a bar table, which they called the Hall of Justice, in reference to the headquarters of “Super Amigos”, a DC Comics cartoon.

According to Monteiro, this is the first block with 100 pc costumed drummers at Rio Carnival. “Our expectation is to always honour the street carnival culture, to make everyone happy with our music and our joy,” he said.

According to the statement, around 23 groups paraded through the city streets on this first day of the third weekend of the 2025 Street Carnival. Among the most popular in the afternoon, the traditional Imprensa Que eu Gamo took over Laranjeiras and Tecnomacumba, led by singer Rita Beneditto, exalted Afro-Brazilian religion and culture with its parade.

According to Riotur, with the expectation of attracting around six million people in 37 days of festivities, the 2025 Street Carnival will have, until March 9, more than 470 performances spread across several regions of the megapolis.