Tens of millions are expected in the streets of Brazil for the country’s most raucous festival, promising the biggest Carnival on record, reports Portuguese 24‑hour cable news television channel Sic Notícias.
The Ministry of Tourism projects more than 65 million Brazilians will turn out for the host of parades, blocos, trio elétrico processions and costume celebrations during the festival, which kicked off Friday night and runs until Tuesday. The figure represents a 22-percent increase over last year.
Thousands of foreign tourists are expected to join in the festivities, with the main Carnival cities – Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Salvador, Belo Horizonte, Olinda and Recife – expected to bring in over 40 million people.
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Rio ushered in the days’ long celebration with the mayor giving King Mommo the key to the city, the iconic figure now in charge of Brazil’s second-largest city for the duration of Carnival.
Around 6 million revellers are expected, enjoying musicians, percussionists and stilt artists at the many street parties, and crowding into the famed Sambadrome. Samba schools spend months preparing their parades, narrative spectacles complete with enormous parades and elaborate costumes, dazzling crowds and judges alike.
More than a hedonistic last hoorah before Lent, Carnival is also a major economic driver in Brazil, and this year’s celebration is expected to be the most lucrative on record.Tourism officials in São Paulo state project the season could help national tourism bring in 18.6 billion reais (US$3.55 billion) in February, up 10 percent year-on-year and potentially the highest since records began in 2011.
