20 vivid pictures of carnivals from around the world

One of the most colorful and fun events in the history of any city — carnival — is celebrated in each country in its own way, but always on a large scale.

Carnival! How much is in this word. Those who have visited a real carnival at least once will never forget this unique holiday atmosphere. After all, this is a magical time when the whole city is painted in bright colors, music and loud laughter are heard everywhere, and people dance all night long. And those who have not yet managed to see this spectacular event, dream of getting to it. Well, let's take a virtual walk through ten countries where the carnival season is officially considered open.

1. Participants of the Dragos di Real Samba school on the first night of the carnival in Sao Paulo on February 28. (Ricardo Bufolin / Getty Images)

2. At the carnival in Sao Paulo was attended by Ronaldo himself. On the second night of the carnival — March 1 — he drove through the streets of the city as part of the Gavios da Fille samba school. (Miguel Schincariol / AFP — Getty Images)

3. Participant of the carnival in Rio de Janeiro in the image of the heroine of the movie "Avatar". Carnival in Rio is the main holiday of the year for many locals. Hundreds of thousands of fun lovers take to the streets of Rio for numerous "quarter" parties, of which almost 500 usually take place throughout the city. (Felipe Dana / AP)

4. Carnival participants walk through the streets during the Schuttig festival in the German city of Elzach on March 2. Schuttig is a traditional carnival figure of the city, dressed in a red suit and a large straw hat decorated with snail shells. (Patrick Seeger / AP)

5. A masked boy jumps over a bonfire during the Bele Poklade Carnival in the village of Lozovik, Serbia, on March 2. The roots of Bele Poklade go back to the old pagan traditions, this holiday is celebrated annually seven weeks before Easter. Children walk around the village, collect eggs, and then jump over the fire to scare away evil spirits. (Marko Djurica / Reuters)

6. Mud-smeared people celebrate the Bloko da Lama, or "street mud party" in Paraty, Brazil. This festival was founded in 1986 by local teenagers who initiated the Carnival, appearing in the historical center of the city soiled in mud, after following a crab fishing expedition in the nearby mangrove forest. (Nelson Antoine / AP)

7. Cordao da Bola Preta is the largest street carnival in the city center of Rio de Janeiro. About 2 million people have already taken part in the parade this year. (Yasuyoshi Chiba / AFP — Getty Images)

8. A little romance during the Banda Di parade Ipanema in Rio. Streets all over Brazil are filled with Carnival participants, and the largest parties attract more than a million visitors. (Silvia Izquierdo / AP)

9. "Zvonkari" during a parade in the village of Marceli, Croatia, on March 2. According to tradition, bell ringers go to different villages and create a lot of noise to scare away the evil spirits of winter and welcome spring. Their costumes consist of white trousers and striped shirts, as well as a sheepskin thrown over the shoulders and a large bell that is tied to the belt. (Antonio Bronic / Reuters)

10. The "King" leads the parade in Nice, France. The theme of the carnival in the city this year was "The King of Gastronomy". (Valery Hache / AFP — Getty Images)

11. Moving scenery during the Cru Endymion Parade in New Orleans, Louisiana, March 1. (Dan Anderson / EPA)

12. One of the participants of the parade in New Orleans distributes glow sticks. The Mardi Gras holiday will continue here until the weekend, and its culmination falls on "fat Tuesday". (Dan Anderson / EPA)

13. "Pelikeiros", or hairdressers participate in the carnival of Entroido in Lac, near Ourense, Spain. (Pedro Armestre / AFP — Getty Images)

14. Participants in "Negritas Puloi" costumes perform during the "Battle of the Flowers" parade in Barranquilla, Colombia. (John Vizcaino / Reuters)

15. Dancers from the Dragos da Real samba school on their moving scenery during the carnival in Sao Paulo. (Andre Penner / AP)

16. Participant of the Tom Major samba school on the first night of the carnival in Sao Paulo. (Nelson Almeida / AFP — Getty Images)

17. Participants of the carnival in Nice. (Valery Hache / AFP — Getty Images)

18. Members of the group "Diablada Oruro" at the parade in Oruro, Bolivia. (Gaston Brito / Reuters)

19. Masked people at a carnival procession in the town of Strumica, 150 km south-east of Skopje, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. On this day of the Macedonian carnival — an Orthodox holiday — evil spirits are driven away by dancing. The holiday is the beginning of the fasting period before Easter. (Georgi Licovski / EPA)

20. Traditional Bull dancers dance on the streets of Nausi, Greece. Bulls of Naousa is an event that takes place during the carnival. This is a dance event with many elements from Greek history, tradition and religion. (Sakis Mitrolidis / AFP — Getty Images)