Samba school Salgueiro was crowned champion of Rio de Janeiro's fiercely competitive Carnival parades, beating off formidable opponents and overcoming a shooting that left three dead outside its headquarters just months ago.

Dancers dressed as slaves pushed a float decked out as the ship that brought the Portuguese royal family to Brazil two centuries ago, marking the final night of Rio’s annual carnival parade.

Screams and cheers greeted the Rolling Stones as they pulled up to their beach-front hotel in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, today in a huge police motorcade, and die-hard fans were already staking out spots before an enormous stage on Copacabana Beach, where up to two million people were expected to attend the band’s free concert tomorrow night.