Galaxy

10 Feb 2018

Carnival in Sao Paulo and Rio turn the streets into a riot of colour

Carnival festivals have taken over Rio de Janeiro and transformed the streets into a riot of colour as revellers dance and drink at block parties with names like 'fire in the underpants'.
Over six million people, including 1.5 million visitors, are expected to take to the streets of Rio for the annual celebrations, which pit the city's 13 best samba schools against one another in ornate parades that can cost over $2million (£1.4million) a piece.
To launch the 'world's biggest party' on Friday, officials handed a glittering key to the city to King Momo, a figurehead who presides over the partying and who, according to legend, was expelled from Mount Olympus before moving to Rio, the so-called 'wonderful city.'
Festival attendees are expected to drop some 3.5 billion reais ($1.1 billion) on the city, with some paying over $1,000 (£720) for tickets to watch the top samba schools shimmy down the 700-meter (2,300-ft) runway at the sambadrome stadium.
Elsewhere in the city, locals and tourists decked out in glitter and tutus will sip beer and dance to powerful drums at over 400 more informal block parties with names like 'Lie down but don't sleep,' and 'Worm's crotch.'
The festival, whose roots lie in a tradition of carnal indulgence before the austere Roman Catholic season of Lent, officially ends next Wednesday.
Major carnival parades and other festivities will also take place in other cities, including Sao Paulo, Brazil's biggest metropolis, and Salvador, a city in the northeast.
 

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