When joy takes centre stage and drives the creative economy

From local street parties to monumental parades, we show how investing in the festivities means securing income, living culture and sustainability in practice

Anyone claiming Carnival is merely confetti and a bank holiday needs to take a closer look at the figures dancing before us. The revelry is one of the planet's greatest cultural manifestations and a powerful opportunity machine. In 2025 the National Confederation of Commerce projected a turnover of around 12 billion reais in the country just from the official four days of festivities.

We are talking about a mechanism that drives tourism, services, pubs, hotels and transport with impressive force. To give you an idea of the accelerated pace of this growth, the movement in 2024 was 9 billion reais and the trend remains upward.

The party capitals put on a show of their own in the financial balance sheets and Minas Gerais took the lead in this narrative with mastery. According to Agência Minas, the state made history in 2025 by putting 13.2 million revellers on the streets, with 6 million people vibrating in Belo Horizonte alone. These numbers confirm the Minas party as an absolute powerhouse of tourism and income generation, with almost 6 billion reais moved in the state territories during Carnival.

Rio de Janeiro also shone and saw the 2023 Carnival move 4.5 billion reais in the local economy, with 1.2 billion coming solely from the contagious energy of the street parties, according to city hall data. Salvador, according to the government of Bahia, kept the rhythm high and projected around 2 billion reais circulating in 2024 by welcoming over 800,000 passionate tourists. Meanwhile, São Paulo proved that the land of drizzle has plenty of rhythm and injected 6.7 billion reais into the state economy in 2025, with an impressive circulation of passengers through the airports according to official state government information.

The financial return that makes the party shine brighter

When we speak of economic return we are looking at how much money goes back to society in the form of income, taxes and jobs from every real invested. It is a calculation that is a joy to see. Studies in some states indicate that every 1 real applied in the local Carnival can multiply and generate 4 to 7 reais of return for the production chain. The winners here are the small businesses in gastronomy, leisure and services that see their turnover soar.

Money circulates like streamers in the air. The investment enters at one point of the party and spreads out paying the artist's fee, the sound system rental, the costume stitching, the corner snack stall and the app driver. For this 2026 Carnival the National Confederation of Commerce estimated a movement exceeding 14 billion reais and the creation of around 40,000 temporary jobs. It is definitive proof that joy also pays the bills and puts food on the table for thousands of Brazilian families.

Creativity leading the parade

The creative economy is the main plot of this story and has human imagination as its raw material. It is the talent of those who design costumes, compose the catchy songs that stick in our heads, project grand floats and organise the logistics of the street parties. In Carnival this economy gets its biggest stage and puts independent artists, seamstresses, graffiti artists and collectives from the outskirts under the spotlight.

In Rio de Janeiro a single day of parades at the Sambadrome mobilises an army of 20,000 people working officially. These are professionals in assembly, operations and services who make the spectacle happen. Events of this size help keep the wheels turning all year round in sectors like tourism and food, as we know the preparation starts long before the first drum beat.

A top-score showcase for sustainability

Carnival can also open the way for brands that want to show their social and environmental impact initiatives in practice. Sponsoring the revelry goes far beyond putting a logo on a t-shirt. Large organisations have the chance to invest in concrete actions that leave a positive legacy.

We can cite massive recycling programmes in party areas and the hiring of waste picker cooperatives with fair and dignified pay. Also on this list is the incentive for public transport to reduce carbon emissions and educational campaigns on respect, diversity and combating violence. When these actions are built together with communities and public authorities, sponsorship becomes care for the territory and generates a true connection between the brand and the reveller.

For this mechanism to be truly sustainable the view needs to go beyond waste management and reach circularity and inclusion. This means encouraging the reuse of materials and ensuring the well-being of the reveller with strategic hydration points. On the social pillar accessibility stops being a detail and becomes a premise. Street parties like 'Todo Mundo Cabe no Mundo' in Belo Horizonte and the samba school 'Embaixadores da Alegria' in Rio de Janeiro are potent examples of how the festivities are strengthened by embracing diversity. With sign language interpreters and infrastructure for people with disabilities, they prove that Carnival is only sustainable when it is, in fact, a territory for everyone.

Festivals shaking up cities worldwide

The transformative impact of Brazilian Carnival finds an echo in major festivals around the globe. In Edinburgh the summer festivals move almost 500 million pounds a year in the local economy and support over 8,000 jobs. In London the famous Notting Hill Carnival reaches an estimated impact of 493 million pounds.

These examples show that well-managed popular festivals position cities on the global map and attract visitors. They are perfect laboratories for companies and governments to test new forms of social and environmental commitment while everyone has fun.

This strategic vision does not end on Ash Wednesday. Carnival is the planet's largest street laboratory for what defines the success of major festivals and the global events ecosystem today: the capacity to generate value for the grassroots. When we look at the party as a living ecosystem the positive impact needs to reach the street vendor, the small local producer and the infrastructure of the city hosting the public. Sustainability in events today is guaranteeing that the socio-economic and environmental legacy remains in the territory long after the spotlights go out and the sound falls silent. It is understanding that an event is only grand if it strengthens the network that sustains it.

How a-gente joins the parade

a-gente was born exactly at this intersection between culture, tourism and positive impact. Our work dialogues with global festival trends and our experience connects local narratives with the world. We see Carnival and other popular festivals as living opportunities to create new policies and partnership models that look beyond immediate profit.

Being a living consultancy means being present on the tarmac and backstage. It is listening to those who make the party happen, translating economic data into potent stories and helping brands design actions that leave fond memories and a legacy. It is where the euphoria of Carnival meets the strategy of those thinking about long-term development.

An invitation to join the revelry responsibly

Carnival is, above all, an irresistible invitation. It calls the body to dance and the city to reinvent itself. But it also invites companies and managers to take on a leading role in this development plot.

Every investment made intelligently in popular culture returns multiplied in self-esteem, identity and future. When Ash Wednesday arrives, the good memory remains along with the certainty that we learned a little more about how to build a better country.

May every beat of the drum remind us that there is no strong economy without people pulsing and occupying the streets. In this, Carnival continues to be a teacher giving lessons to the whole world. Have a great Carnival!