At the center of the world famous Rio Carnaval is the Samba Parade — a fierce competition of vast scale among 13 neighborhood samba schools. Watching them are a panel of expert judges, more than 60,000 spectators and a TV audience of nearly half a billion. The unexpected is always expected during one of the largest parties on earth, and INSIDE is right there to find out how Rio survives and Carnaval continues to thrive.
INSIDE: Rio Carnival
![A samba dancer in a feathered costume at Samba City’s “Masked Ball.”](https://cdn.kpbs.org/dims4/default/7075938/2147483647/strip/true/crop/618x381+0+42/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fkpbs-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fimg%2Fphotos%2F2009%2F07%2F24%2Finside-rio-carnival.jpg)
Phil Day/©NGT