Reigning in the Rio Carnival

THE greatest party in the world has kicked off, but the everything-goes attitude of the Rio Carnival is under threat.

Dancers from the Union da Ilha samba school perform at the Sambadrome stadium / AFP

THE greatest party in the world kicked off yesterday, but the everything-goes attitude of the Rio Carnival is under threat.

As celebrities such as Madonna and Beyonce flock to the city, the mayor’s year-old zero-tolerance campaign against petty crime and disorder was on display, the Associated Press reports.

Revellers who drink too much and then want to use gutters as toilets will no longer be tolerated, with nearly 100 arrested already for such acts.

Beach football is only allowed after 5pm and greasy food has been banned from the beaches.

However, the most noticeably change is the disappearance of Rio’s world-famous waterfront pickup club for legal prostitutes.

Hundreds of prostitutes would gather each night to meet up with an almost exclusively foreign clientele at the notorious Help Disco.

Meanwhile a seven-year-old girl is preparing to samba before a crowd of thousands.

In a violent twist a 37-year-old Dutch tourist has landed in hospital after being shot twice by a mugger who attacked him and his wife after the city's fabled Carnival festivities got under way.

The Dutchman, identified as Alexander Kors Johannes Vervoort, was shot in the stomach and arm during the assault late Friday. He remained in intensive care, though was conscious.

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