Brazil's Carnival festival returns for the first time since the pandemic-related restrictions of recent years, but some cities cancel celebrations due to mudslides.
abc.net.au/news/brazils-carnival-returns-full-steam-ahead-despite-cancellations/101996866Rio De Janeiro's famously colourful Carnival festival has returned in full swing this year after years of delays and cancellations caused by the pandemic, but devastating mudslides in some cities have seen festivities cancelled.
Friday, local time, marked the official opening of festivities, which will run through to February 22, with Brazil's government anticipating as many as 46 million people joining in on the annual celebration. With the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly behind, authorities expected the annual celebration to break records in the tourism and service sectors, offsetting some of the losses of the prior years.However, in some cities, celebrations were cancelled after several mudslides caused by heavy rains killed a 7-year-old girl and a woman in north Sao Paulo state.This has caused the cities of Sao Sebastiao and Bertioga to cancel their Carnival festivities.