Rio de Janeiro's [Brazil] Sambódromo with Acessibility to Wheelchair Users: This gives Samba!

This article aims to investigate the obstacles faced by people with physical disabilities, particularly people who use wheelchairs, which prevent and/or limit their access to the Rio de Janeiro carnival. By participating in the event in situ, it was possible to observe the difficulties faced by this public, to enjoy such a special moment. On the other hand, even though they were somewhat uncomfortable and exposed, the joy of participating in the event with family members proved to be contagious and exciting, leading to reflection on how to improve accessibility to the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro [Brazil]. With this analysis it was possible to understand possible origins of the difficulties and present propositions to eliminate or minimize them, not only from an architectural point of view, but also from an organizational point of view, strengthening the awareness of protecting the rights of people with (and without) disabilities in their right to leisure and tourism. The methodological design of this investigation with an exploratory approach involved bibliographic, documentary and field research. The results obtained indicate incipient accessibility actions in Rio's carnival, which require improvements to satisfy revelers with disabilities. In this sense, considering Sassaki's (2009) architectural dimension of accessibility, proposals for improvements were presented to contribute to the implementation of accessibility in the Rio de Janeiro Sambadrome and its surroundings.