It’s the beginning of the Rio Carnival!

In a sign that the severity of the pandemic is waning, Brazilians are once again hosting the world’s most famous carnival, Rio de Janeiro.

Originally scheduled for last February, the Carnival of Rio instead started in the last hours due to a postponement caused by the pandemic. Brazil experienced a huge spike in cases of the Omicron variant that spread throughout the country in January and February.

The first carnival was conceived in 1640, when it was a festival based on the Roman festival of Saturnalia, where participants paid tribute to the Greek gods of wine, Saturnalia and Bacchus.

African culture has since greatly influenced the carnival with the introduction of samba music in 1917. Samba is now considered traditional Brazilian music.

The Rio Carnival culminates in the Sambodromo on the avenue Marquês de Sapucaí. This huge stadium hosts 80,000 enthusiastic visitors who applaud some 5,000 participants.

The Rio Carnival is held until April 30.