rei momo (king momo) opens the parades by marching down the sambadrome a short time before the first of the samba schools, in the company of the beautiful carnaval queen and princess.

the samba school parade in rio de janeiro is the undisputed highlight of every year's carnaval- it is one of the things that sets the celebration in rio apart from others around the world.

each night of the festival, up to 75,000 spectators pack into the sambódromo to see the very best teams of this proud carioca tradition going head to head.

as diverse and far-flung celebrations began to consolidate themselves into the 'main event' in the middle of the 19th century, the number of samba schools involved required the implementation of an organization similar to what is used in professional soccer leagues worldwide.