Rio de Janeiro Event Calendar 2026
Fourteen dates that shape Rio’s year, from SBC Summit and Web Summit to Blockchain.RIO, ROG.e and the NFL at Maracanã. With hotel occupancy from HotéisRIO’s own surveys, and the weeks where a side event fits.
City-wide hotel occupancy from HotéisRIO surveys, 2026. Each month shows its highest surveyed week; January and December use New Year 2025/26. — = no survey published.
February
Carnival
The week the whole city is booked. HotéisRIO measured 99.02% hotel occupancy for Carnival 2026, the highest reading of the year and above 2025’s 98.62%. For a brand this is a hospitality moment, not a conference week: suites, terraces and private celebrations.
March
SBC Summit Rio
Brazil’s regulated betting and gaming market in one building. Operators, affiliates, suppliers and regulators, 15,000+ expected for the third edition at Riocentro. It launched in 2024 as the market opened, and returns on 2–4 March 2027.
April
IEM Rio 2026
ESL’s Counter-Strike 2 tournament comes back to Rio, four years after the 2022 Major. Sixteen of the world’s top teams play for a US$1 million prize pool at Farmasi Arena in the Olympic Park.
May
Shakira — Todo Mundo no Rio
The third free megashow on Copacabana beach, after Madonna in 2024 and Lady Gaga in 2025. Going into the weekend, with the 1 May holiday stacked on top, HotéisRIO had the Zona Sul at 80.33% and the city at 67.80%.
Rio2C
Latin America’s creativity summit: audiovisual, music, games, advertising and tech, split into Summit, Conference, Markets and Festivalia. The 2026 edition counted 55,000 participants, 2,000 speakers and 23 stages. In 2027 it moves earlier, to 12–17 April.
June
Web Summit Rio
The fourth edition and the largest yet: 40,287 attendees from 100+ countries, 1,572 startups and 688 investors. HotéisRIO expected 87.48% in the hotels around Riocentro that week. It returns 14–17 June 2027.
July
AIDS 2026
The 26th International AIDS Conference takes Riocentro for six days. Researchers, health agencies, NGOs and industry arrive from around the world, and it is the international congress on Rio’s July calendar.
August
Rio Innovation Week
The sixth edition, and the fifth in the port warehouses of Píer Mauá on Guanabara Bay. HotéisRIO measured 79.53% hotel occupancy for the week, with Leme and Copacabana at 89.78%. 2027 is set for 24–27 August.
Blockchain.RIO
Rio’s institutional crypto week. The 11th opens with the Financial Infrastructure Forum at Museu do Amanhã and the private Leaders evening at Casa Camolese. Then two days at ExpoRio: 500+ speakers, 150+ sponsors, 13 tracks on tokenisation, stablecoins and regulation.
September
Rock in Rio
Seven days at the Cidade do Rock across two weekends, 700,000+ people, close to half of them from outside Rio and visitors from 89 countries. HotéisRIO recorded 85.79% across the festival days, and 90.79% in Leme and Copacabana in the first week.
ROG.e — Rio Oil & Gas Energy
Latin America’s largest oil, gas and energy event, now billed by IBP as an energy festival. 650+ companies, 13 international pavilions and more than 95,000 m² at Riocentro, with around 75,000 participants expected.
NFL Rio Game
The league’s first regular-season game in Rio: Baltimore Ravens against Dallas Cowboys at Maracanã, with Ricky Martin and Pedro Sampaio at half-time. NFL fan events run across the city from 20 September — a game week built for hospitality.
November
Sebrae Summit
Four days for Brazil’s small-business and entrepreneurship ecosystem, closing Riocentro’s business calendar for the year. ABF Franchising runs at the same venue the week before, 5–7 November.
December
New Year’s Eve — Réveillon
Fireworks over Copacabana and live shows on the sand. The 2025/26 turn of the year ran at 87.01% hotel occupancy, and the beachfront hotels sell their own celebrations, some with a private area on the beach.
Side-Event Opportunity Map
Where a Rio side event fits in 2026.
Web Summit Rio Week — Jun 8 to 11
The biggest room of Rio’s conference year. 40,287 attendees, 1,572 startups and 688 investors, all heading to Riocentro for four days. Investor dinners and founder receptions are the obvious formats. The 2027 dates are already fixed, 14–17 June, so the brief can start now.
The August Double — Aug 4 to 13
Rio Innovation Week at Píer Mauá, then Blockchain.RIO at ExpoRio and Museu do Amanhã. Ten days, both in the centre of the city, a tech audience followed by a crypto and finance one. One production brief can cover both weeks.
Barra’s Conference Run
Riocentro takes SBC Summit Rio in March, Web Summit in June, AIDS 2026 in July, ROG.e in September and Sebrae Summit in November. Cidade das Artes has Rio2C in May. During Web Summit week the hotels around Riocentro were expected at 87.48%, well above the city figure.
September — Three Audiences in Four Weeks
Rock in Rio’s seven days, then ROG.e at Riocentro, then the NFL at Maracanã on the 27th. Hotels ran at 85.79% during the festival. Music fans, energy executives and NFL hospitality guests are different rooms, so a targeted evening reaches exactly one of them.
Carnival and New Year
The two citywide peaks: 99.02% hotel occupancy at Carnival 2026 and 87.01% over New Year 2025/26. Neither is a conference week. Both are hospitality moments, built around hotel celebrations, terraces and brand suites.
Rio de Janeiro Intel
Interactive Rio District Map
Barra’s conference halls, the port warehouses of Porto Maravilha, the Zona Sul hotels and the hills of Santa Teresa — Rio’s districts mapped by what each one does best for an event.
Explore the area map →
Best Event Venues Rio
Copacabana Palace, Fasano and the Zona Sul rooftop pools, Casa Camolese, Museu do Amanhã and the MAR — grouped by format, with capacities for each.
Browse event venues →
Rio de Janeiro Event Agency
Rio de Janeiro is CH3’s South America regional hub. Behind it: 680+ events for 440 clients in 38 cities since 2020, from venue sourcing to full production.
Learn more about CH3 Rio →Frequently Asked Questions
Rio’s 2026 conference dates, and how to plan a side event around them.