Sizzling dancers spice up Brazil carnival

Elite samba schools paraded in Rio de Janeiro's newly renovated Sambadrome on Sunday to kick off Brazil's annual carnival.

As many as 8,50,000 tourists descend on Rio for the five-day-long carnival.

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Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to participate in the open-air dance parties, with people singing to a medley of carnival songs.

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The performers with their flamboyant costumes and theatrical make-up enthralled the crowds that had come to see up to 5,000 samba troupe dancers romping the streets of Rio. 

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The carnival, which is the grandest holiday in Brazil, draws millions to watch the parade that usually starts shortly after sundown and doesn't finish until dawn.

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Top samba schools perform dances at the carnival and they are pitted against one another in competition to be Carnival Champions.

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Revellers from the Mocidade samba school parade on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome.

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A reveller from the Mocidade samba school parades on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome 

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Drum queen Antonia Fontenelle of the Mocidade samba school dances on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome

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A reveller from the Imperatriz samba school parades on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome.

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Revellers celebrate Carnival by covering themselves with mud from mangrove swamps in Curuca, where the Amazon River pours into the Atlantic. 

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Drum queen Patricia Nery of the Renascer de Jacarepagua samba school dances on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome

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A reveller from the Renascer de Jacarepagua samba school parades on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome

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A reveller from the Vila Isabel samba school parades on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome 

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A reveller from the Beija-Flor samba school parades on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome 

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Revellers from the Beija-Flor samba school parade on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome

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Revellers from the Beija-Flor samba school parade on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome 

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Revellers from the Beija-Flor samba school parade on the first night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome