Revellers across Brazil took to the streets as Rio de Janeiro's world renowned, annual Carnival celebrations got underway for the second night in a row.
Thousands of sparkling dancers from the city's elite samba schools put on a spectacular samba parade through the famous Sambadrome.
The glitter-filled celebrations saw more than 70,000 spectators enjoy the front-row view from the concrete arena, with many thousands more milling around outside, soaking up the atmosphere because they were unable to get tickets.
Authorities expect that seven million people - including one and a half million Brazilian and foreign tourists - participated in this year's edition of the gigantic outdoor party.
But amid the display of spectacular floats, feather headdresses, and sparkly G-strings, serious politics marked this year's parades with dancers paying homage to Marielle Franco, an activist for gays and Afro-Brazilian rights who was assassinated last year.
Mangueira, one of the oldest samba schools in Rio, included the former city councilwoman in its parade honouring Brazil's hidden heroes, those that history books often forget or choose not to mention.
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