Rio de Janeiro shows why it is regarded as the Carnival Capital of the World.
Many states are realising that hosting mega events puts the spotlight on them and raises their profile.
Tennis champion Rafael Nadal has said that he is eager to experience the incredible energy of Brazilian carnival before gearing up to defend his title at the Rio Open.
Glittering body suit, masks and crowns made of feather and statement jewellery -- this collection will remind you of a carnival.
The estimated size of the Durga Puja economy could be about Rs 2.75 trillion in 2021 had there been no pandemic, points out Atanu Biswas.
'Where does the energy and the compulsive gaiety come from, I begin to wonder despite the mind numbing sounds.'
The streets of north London in Britain were awash with colour and glitter as revellers took over the streets to celebrate the Notting Hill Carnival -- now in its 59th year. Take a look at the celebrations as around 2 million people marched along the streets of west London in Caribbean costumes over two days.
Rains failed to dampen the famous Rio carnival spirit as this Brazilian city bid an emotional farewell to the thousands of athletes of the world in a colourful closing ceremony to bring down curtains on the 31st Olympic Games.
Brazil's Sports Minister Leonardo Picciani expects there to be almost no cases of the Zika virus during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, adding that the country is prepared for the Games, despite health concerns and political instability. The World Health Organization's Emergency Committee on Zika will meet in the coming weeks to evaluate the risks associated with the event. More than 150 health experts, in a public letter, have also called for the August Games to be postponed. U.S. health officials have concluded that infections by the mosquito-borne Zika virus in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies. However, Picciani, who was appointed by interim President Michel Temer, said the situation had significantly improved. "We hosted 43 test events in Rio with 7,000 athletes and we have not had any case of Zika or dengue," he told
The risk of Zika virus infections at the Olympic Games is both low and manageable, the chief of the World Health Organisation said on Friday, a week before the event kicks off in Rio de Janeiro. Nearly half a million people are expected to visit for the Games, many from the United States. Worries about security, the Zika virus and an economic crisis could deter travelers, with just under a third of event tickets as yet unsold. Brazil has been hardest hit by the disease outbreak, and many physicians, competitors and potential visitors have expressed fears the Olympics could serve as a catalyst to spread the virus globally.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Margaret Chan said on Tuesday Brazil is doing a good job tackling the Zika virus and ensuring that the Olympic games it will host in August will be safe for athletes and visitors. Chan said Brazil's government is doing all it can to mobilize Brazilian society in fighting the "formidable" Aedes mosquito that transmits the virus that has spread rapidly through the Americas since last year. "I want to reassure you that the government is working very closely with the international Olympic movement, with the local organizing committee, supported by the WHO, to make sure we have a very good work plan to target the mosquito, and to make sure that people who will come here either as visitors or athletes will get the maximum protection they need," Chan said. "I am confident the government can do it," she told reporters after meeting with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Many top athletes around the globe might be pulling out of the Rio Olympics due to Zika virus concern but chef de mission of the Indian Olympic contingent Rakesh Gupta said they are taking every possible step to address any possible risk. "We are concerned about Zika virus but we are taking every possible precaution for the Indian contingent that will travel to Rio. Whatever advisory we have received from the international body we have forwarded that to the players and federations," Gupta said on the sidelines of an event where Amul became the official sponsor of the Indian contingent.
The local organizing committee for the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro said on Tuesday not a single case of Zika infection has been reported among 17,000 athletes, volunteers and staff during test events in the run-up to the games. As concern over the outbreak grows among the 500,000 visitors expected for the Olympics, the committee's chief medical officer said cooler temperatures, which are less propitious for mosquitos, had already led to a decrease in the number of Zika infections in recent months. U.S. health officials have concluded that Zika infections in pregnant women can cause microcephaly, a birth defect marked by small head size that can lead to severe developmental problems in babies.
If the Puja as a brand can be marketed more effectively outside Bengal, even overseas, it might do wonders for the economy, says Atanu Biswas.
More than 100 medical experts, academia and scientists on Friday have called for the Rio Olympic Games to be postponed or moved because of fears that the event could speed up the spread of the Zika virus around the world. Their assessment counters the view of some leading experts of infectious disease who say that as long as the necessary precautions are taken there is no reason to cancel the Games. On Thursday, Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, declared there was no public health reason to cancel or delay this summer's Games. In a public letter posted online, the group of 150 leading public health experts, many of them bioethicists, said the risk of infection from the Zika virus is too high. The letter was sent to Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, and urged that the Games, due to be held in Rio de Janeiro in August, be moved to another location or delayed.
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has welcomed measures being taken to tackle the mosquito-borne Zika virus and believes the spread of the virus across South America will not adversely affect the Rio de Janeiro Games in August.
South Sudanese Olympic athlete Guor Marial may not be a hot medal tip for Sunday's marathon, but the former slave's road to Rio is one of the most astonishing stories of the games.
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