Rio de Janeiro's carnival is back after two years and people are 'just so happy'

Members of Vila Isabel samba school perform during the second night of Rio's Carnival parade at the Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai in Rio de Janeiro on April 24. Photo: AFP

Rio de Janeiro's carnival, a glittering, sequin-studded festival of the flesh, exploded back to life recently with the first famed samba school parades since Covid-19 hit Brazil.

After two long years of face masks, social-distancing and death, a sparkling sea of dancers, drummers and multi-storey floats reclaimed the "Sambadrome," the iconic beach city's carnival parade venue, which had been turned into a drive-through vaccination centre at the height of the health crisis.