the main carnival event is the all-night parades at the sambódromo, during which the various samba schools compete against one another by showing off their stunning floats, elaborate costumes, captivating music, dances, and gorgeous queens.

carnival culminates in the announcement of the carnival champions at the end of the week.

even certified by the guinness book of world records as the largest such celebration on the planet, the week-long bacchanal is an opportunity for visitors and locals, the rich and the poor to cast off the trappings of their daily lives and celebrate heartily before the aestheticism of lent brings the revelry to a close.

from its inception in 1723, carnival has been a time in which inhibitions are shed, identities are obscured and the rigid distinctions of class, race and gender, fall by the wayside.