Rio streets filled at dawn for carnival party
The biggest party of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival took to the streets at dawn today.
Organisers said up to one million people were expected at the Bola Preta street party, or “bloco” – one of Rio’s oldest.
Dressed in black and white, the revellers sang along to traditional Carnival songs like Rio’s anthem Cidade Maravilosa – The Marvellous City.
“I got up early to get here because this bloco is a monument to Brazilians’ ability to show the world complete happiness,” said Clandecy Claudio, a 23-year-old truck driver wearing a T-shirt that read “Beer Is Good For You” and with a can of the beverage in each hand.
“For a few days I can let my work go and forget all my troubles,” he added.
In the north-east city of Salvador, which fights Rio each year for bragging rights to the nation’s wildest Carnival, police said thousands of people had simply collapsed in public plazas to catch a few hours of sleep after partying all night.
Even sober Sao Paulo, Brazil’s business capital, showed its partying colours, holding its first night of flamboyant samba group parades.
But it is Rio’s massive festival that draws the most attention – and international celebrities.
Madonna, Beyonce, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton were all expected to watch as Rio’s samba parades begin on Sunday night.
But the essence of Rio’s Carnival is in its street parties, which have regained popularity in recent years.
Thousands danced to a samba beat on the cobbled streets of the bohemian Santa Teresa neighbourhood last night, donning skimpy costumes.
Carly Oboudiyat, a 25-year-old medical student from New York, left mountains of snow in the US to enjoy Rio’s white sand beaches and street parties.
“It’s fantastic going from freezing winds to 111-degree weather,” Ms Oboudiyat said as she took in the surroundings near Ipanema beach.
Samba dancers were rehearsing for the start of the premier competition in dazzling parades of scantily clad revellers and towering floats.
Amid the partying in Rio, authorities this year were clamping down on small offences such as urinating in public, trying to bring a semblance of order to Rio’s crammed streets and beaches.
In the wake of its winning bid to host the 2016 Olympics, Rio and its ambitious young mayor want to show the world that the city of six million has the ability to safely host major events and contain drug-gang violence.
