It's arguably the highlight of Brazil's events calendar, bringing millions of spectators to the seaside city of Rio de Janeiro.
And this year's Rio Carnival is in full swing, with celebrations kicking off with parades aplenty on Friday.
The celebrations, which will continue until Wednesday, February 26, include samba performances from myriad dance schools, parades, floats and parties through the city's streets, with participants dressed in flamboyant, colour-laden costumes.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the best pictures from Rio Carnival 2020's opening weekend.
The carnival, which attracts up to two million people to Rio's streets each day of its programme, is held every day in the lead-up to Lent.
The celebration dates back to the 1600s, and was originally devised as a food festival, though became synonymous with samba from the 1920s onwards.
Many of the carnival's events are now ticketed, with the samba displays held at Rio's concrete arena known as the Sambadrome.
