Samba Schools are large, social entities with thousands of members and a theme for their song and parade each year. In Rio Carnival, samba schoolsparade in the Sambadrome ("sambódromo" in Portuguese). Some of the most famous include GRES Estação Primeira de Mangueira, GRES Portela, GRES Imperatriz Leopoldinense, GRES Beija-Flor de Nilópolis, GRES Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel, and recently, Unidos da Tijuca and GRES União da Ilha do Governador. Local tourists pay $500–950, depending on the costume, to buy a Samba costume and dance in the parade. Blocos are small informal groups with a definite theme in their samba, usually satirizing the political situation. About 30 schools in Rio gather hundreds of thousands of participants. More than 440 blocos operate in Rio. Bandas are samba musical bands, also called "street carnival bands", usually formed within a single neighborhood or musical back-ground. The Carnival industry chain amassed in 2012 almost US$1 billion in revenues.

How many members do Samba Schools have?