Carnival celebrations returned to Brazil Friday, with colorful floats and dazzling dance groups at Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Sambadrome. Rio's Sambadrome has been home to the parade since the 1980s, and it's a symbol of Brazil's Carnival festivities. During the pandemic, it was a shelter for more than 400 homeless people and also served as a vaccination station. Sao Paulo also kicked off its Carnival parade Friday evening. Both cities' parades usually take place in February or March, but their mayors in January jointly announced they were postponing Carnival by two months due to concerns about the proliferation of the omicron variant. Read more about Carnival at the link in our bio. / 📸: Andre Penner, AP; Silvia Izquierdo, AP; Bruna Prado, AP