Brazil's Carnival season is in full swing, with 2,500 dancers set to hit Rio de Janeiro's famous Sambadrome tonight, when six samba schools go head-to-head to be named this year's champion.The night-time display comes after the city's first famed Carnival on Sunday night, which featured the first six samba schools taking part in the 12-strong competition. Samba school Imperio da Tijuca opened the parade with an over-the-top display that included buxom dancers in bikinis and feathers, thumping drum sections and a float shaped like a giant crustacean.The two-night competition attracts thousands of spectators and millions of television viewers. Many Brazilians have a favorite samba school that they root for with a passion rivaled only by the allegiances for Brazil's football teams.'I paraded for 15 years for one school,' said Jose Vieira, a retired restaurateur who was soaking in the action from one of the exclusive areas sponsored by top Brazilian companies where the elite gather to drink free beer and watch the parade from above. 'It's a wonderful experience. Even from up here in this nice space, I really miss being down there.'More than 2,500 people take part in each parade, which last about an hour, as groups of costumed participants and oversized floats make their way through the Sambodrome. Each samba group is judged in 10 categories, from the quality of the drum sections to the beauty of costumes. Whichever group comes in last is not allowed to compete in the next year's competition among the 12 best groups.One of Rio's most traditional samba groups, Imperio da Tijuca fell out of the top-tier competition and was back in the elite grouping this year with an African-themed parade featuring a float with giant ants and another with the Three Kings.Rio's Carnival isn't limited to the Sambodrome, where a ticket for the bleachers can cost hundreds of dollars. The city is also the site of nearly 500 raucous, beer-fueled street parties that begin at daybreak and pulse through the night.But the showcase celebration is the biggest event in the city ahead of this year's World Cup football tournament, which runs for a month and opens in June.Brazil has come under fire for delays and cost overruns in its preparations for the World Cup, but officials here have pointed to their success in pulling off Rio's annual Carnival parade as evidence of their ability to organize a major event.Around 920,000 tourists are expected in the city, with 75,000 local and foreign spectators packing into the Sambodrome each evening to take part in the spectacular ceremony.Even before the Carnival kicked off people began celebrating. On February 16, revellers danced with their dogs dressed for carnival, during the 'Blocao' dog carnival in Rio de Janeiro. A ten-man brass band and a singer belted out Rio's anthem song 'Cidade Maravilhosa' (Marvelous City) as dog owners gathered to party down with their pooches on Copacabana beach.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az