Brazil's most famous event is Carnival, beginning at midnight on the Friday before Ash Wednesday and lasting for five days.

Carnaval is celebrated all over Brazil and there are more authentic versions than the glitzy tourist drawcard held in Rio de Janeiro, but Rio's is a fantastic spectacle nonetheless. In the sambódromo, a tiered street designed for samba parades, the Brazilians harness sweat, noise and mayhem as the 16 top samba schools each have their hour of glory. Carnival can be smelt and breathed in the air of Brazil. Everywhere you look at Carnival time you can see a Carnival smile, you can hear a Carnival samba beat and you can feel the Carnival spirit. Each city in Brazil has a unique Carnival experience. In Rio, the samba schools are the main attraction. In Bahia, it is apparently completely different, with the emphasis on music. But no matter where you are for Carnival you are bound to be seduced and liberated by the Carnaval spirit.

Carnival started as a pagan celebration in either Rome or Greece. The Carnaval balls were then imported from Italy in the late nineteenth century, and had their 'golden era' in the thirties with legendary balls at the Copacabana Palace Hotel.

The famous Samba Parade in Rio de Janeiro had also started in the thirties, but it wasn't until 1984 that it found its home in Rio at the Sambodromo. Why is it so special? Why does the whole of Brazil stop for it? See more and you will know...