Rio de Janeiro’s carnival parades returned this weekend in a swirl of glitter, sequins and samba for the festival’s first full-on edition since Covid-19 and Brazil’s divisive elections.
Rio’s top samba schools kicked off the annual parade competition in the giant avenue-turned-stadium known as the ‘Sambadrome’.
It has been home to the parade since the 1980s, and is a symbol of Brazil’s Carnival festivities.




