Carnival kicks off in Brazil
2010-02-13 07:05:21 GMT2010-02-13 15:05:21 (Beijing Time)
Xinhua English
A girl dances in the samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Feb. 12, 2010. The Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2010 kicked off on Friday. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)
Young dancers perform in the samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Feb. 12, 2010. The Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2010 kicked off on Friday. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)
Young dancers perform in the samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Feb. 12, 2010. The Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2010 kicked off on Friday. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)
An actress performs on a float in the samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Feb. 12, 2010. The Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2010 kicked off on Friday. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)
People on stilts perform in the samba parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Feb. 12, 2010. The Rio de Janeiro Carnival 2010 kicked off on Friday. (Xinhua/Song Weiwei)
RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's famous Carnival bash kicked off Friday in Rio, with thousands of revelers flocking to the streets to celebrate the five-day festival.
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes presented the giant symbolic key to the city to Carnival King Momo in a ceremony marking the official start of the party.
Rio's traditional samba school parades started on Friday evening, with students from 16 samba schools performing in the Sambadrome.
Carnival celebrations have also started in Sao Paulo, where a total of 14 samba schools would parade through the city's Anhembi Sambadrome on Friday and Saturday nights.
Carnival is a popular festival in Brazil and Rio de Janeiro's parade is the most famous, attracting thousands of Brazilian and foreign tourists.
