•Carnival is the most famous holiday in Brazil and has become an event of huge proportions

•The country stops completely for almost a week and festivities are intense, day and night

•Rio de Janeiro's carnival alone drew 4.9 million people in 2011, with 400,000 being foreigners

•Rhythm, participation, and costumes vary from one region of Brazil to another. In the southeastern cities of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Vitória, huge organized parades are led by samba schools.

Facts about Rio Carnival

•The roots of the carnival can be traced back to the Romans and Greeks who celebrated the arrival of spring with parties.

•These traditions were carried over to the New World with Portuguese immigrants in the 1700s. These traditions were carried over to the New World with Portuguese immigrants in the 1700s.

•Hundreds of street bands, singers and orchestras will entertain party-goers largely with samba music.

•Some of the schools are expected to spend up to £3 million on outfits and preparations.

•Around two million people per day are expected to take to the streets

•A 1/4 million jobs will be created by Carnival and it will generate £420 million for local hotels, restaurants and bars.

•Carnival attracts more and more celebrities with Jennifer Lopez attending last year's event and Gangnam Style star Psy expected this weekend.