Filled with sequins, samba and glitter, the famous carnival parades will kick off in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, bringing the first full-on-edition of the festival held since the bitter elections of Brazil and Covid-19, to its climax.
The biggest carnival in the world, which officially started on Friday, will see a peak in its party level during the all-night parade competition to be held on Sunday and Monday, where the top 12 samba schools of the city will compete to become the champions with their display of mesmerizing floats, enthralling music and numerous drummers, dancers and singers wearing feather-covered, skimpy costumes.
The party was declared open by Mayor Eduardo Paes on Friday, as he handed the city’s key symbolically to “King Momo” or the jovial “monarch” who will “rule” Rio for the next four days.
“It is with great happiness, celebrating life, celebrating democracy, that I have the honour of handing the keys to the city to King Momo,” Paes said, who has been an avid carnival lover.
After two pandemic-hit carnivals and a polarised presidential election that took place in October, Rio is now in full mood to party. In 2021, Rio cancelled the carnival and organised a reduced version of the festival last year, as it placed a ban on the epic street parties, also called “blocos”, and the parades were postponed by two months due to the pandemic. However, this year, the full-on festival is back.
WATCH | Hundreds throng Rio De Janeiro, carnival festivities in Brazil begin
Founder of the massive annual street party, also called “Heaven on Earth”, Pericles Monteiro said, “This is a moment of rebirth We went through a very dark period, in terms of both politics and the pandemic.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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