In Pictures

Carnival in Rio de Janeiro

Up to 5,000 dancers participated in the annual carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Reuters]

Twelve top samba schools competed in front of 80,000 spectators at the Sambadrome stadium [EPA]

Financing traditionally comes from corporate sponsors, but many sponsors pulled out this year due to the economic downturn [EPA]

Each of the entries cost an estimated $2-3m and takes months to prepare [AFP]

The government contributed $3m to help the schools pull through, and Rio municipal authorities also provided aid [AFP]

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva spent eight hours watching the parades during his first visit to the carnival since he was elected in 2003 [EPA]

Security around the carnival was tight with the deployment of 9,800 police [AFP]

Nearly 100 tourists had been victims of robbers, most of them armed gangs, in the lead-up to the festivities [AFP]