Attend the Samba Parade in Brazilian Carnaval

“The runway is alive with colour and music. Samba dancers fill the stadium, their sparkling, feather-bedecked costumes painting the scene in blocks of neon green, fuchsia pink, lemon yellow and glittering gold. In between each flock of dancers, floats the size of buses glide by - a giant turquoise bird, a nodding, pawing lion, a palatial carriage, and a cat in sunglasses are among the creations that pass as I watch from the stadium seats, energy palpably on fire as the crowd dances, cheers and sings. I'm at the Sambadrome - Rio's 90,000-capacity stadium, purpose-built for Carnival's world-famous samba parades - watching as four of the city's most elite Special Group samba schools compete for a place in the final the following weekend. Each night across the main Carnival days, more than 15,000 samba dancers grace the floor of this open-air arena, twirling with rapid dexterity along the 700-metre runway. It's spectacular, the joy so contagious a smile is involuntarily etched on my face from beginning to end, and the atmosphere in the crowd doesn't wane - even when it ends at 6am.”