the parade of the champions officially starts at 10 pm, but as of 7 pm the sambódromo is home to the parade of the 'embaixadores da alegria' (ambassadors of joy), a march celebrating joy by people with special needs.

the sambódromo also hosts a children's parade, called samba mirins - the children's samba groups, which are branches of the main samba schools, perform on the tuesday after the main parade in the early evening, following a format similar to the adult schools.