Brazil's vibrant carnival kicks off

The world's biggest, and most famous, annual party kicks off in Brazil today, with vibrant Carnival celebrations being held across the country, the Daily Mail reported. 

Colourful samba parades, flamboyant costumes and lively street parties are the order of the day today as nearly every state, city and town hosts its own vibrant carnival celebrations.

And many of the dancers are getting into the spirit of the upcoming World Cup - with football-themed outfits, accessories and headwear.
 

The Carnival, which runs across the whole country until March 4, will showcase Brazil’s diverse culture with a variety of sensational festivities in cities including Salvador, Sao Paulo, Florianopolis, and of course, Rio de Janeiro.

According to the tourism ministry, the Northeast region of Brazil as a whole will attract around 1.6 million tourists during the Carnival celebrations, generating BRL $2.2billion (£570million), BRL $1.7billion (£450million) of which is related solely to tourism - 10 per cent increase on last year.
 

The Carnival, which runs across the whole country until March 4, will showcase Brazil’s diverse culture with a variety of sensational festivities in cities including Salvador, Sao Paulo, Florianopolis, and of course, Rio de Janeiro.

According to the tourism ministry, the Northeast region of Brazil as a whole will attract around 1.6 million tourists during the Carnival celebrations, generating BRL $2.2billion (£570million), BRL $1.7billion (£450million) of which is related solely to tourism - 10 per cent increase on last year.
 

Celebrations in the state of Pernambuco are the most popular in the region, attracting about 850,000 visitors, followed by the celebrations in the state of Bahia, which will bring in around 690,000 tourists.

Salvador remains the top choice for Brazilians - being well regarded for its attention to both scale and cost. The city sets aside a huge fifteen miles of street for the parades and is predominantly free for all to attend.
 

Paulo’s Carnival is a lively affair, attracting a huge number of tourists as the city's Samba schools perform for the much-coveted Samba award. The party runs all day and night, as audience members get involved with street parades, or ‘blocos’, and most clubs host extravagant costume parties.
 

The appeal of Sao Paulo is expected to draw in around 28,000 tourists to carnival this year, according to Ítalo Cardoso, Vice president of São Paulo’s Tourism Board (SPTuris) who says, 'I believe the number of visitors will more than double this year'.
 

According to the Rio de Janeiro’s Tourism Board (Riotur), the Carnival will generate around BRL $950 million (£570 million), BRL $750 million (£450 million) of this being related solely to tourism which signals a 10 per cent increase on last year.

Even before the Carnival kicked off people began celebrating. On February 16, revellers danced with their dogs dressed for carnival, during the "Blocao" dog carnival in Rio de Janeiro. A ten-man brass band and a singer belted out Rio's anthem song

"Cidade Maravilhosa" (Marvelous City) as dog owners gathered to party down with their pooches on Copacabana beach.