The show went on at the world's most-celebrated Carnival parades, despite a tropical deluge that soaked thousands of feather-clad dancers, wildly costumed musicians and masses of spectators at Rio de Janeiro's Sambadrome.

The skies opened up about an hour before the start of the all-night extravaganza on Sunday, drenching revelers, flooding streets near the Sambadrome and even the walkways within Rio's Mecca of Carnaval.

Tennis star Rafael Nadal, in town for the Rio Open, took part in the opening parade of the night, covered by a plastic rain slicker.