Traditional five-day carnival in Rio de Janeiro was officially opened on Friday to sounds of drums when Rio's mayor Eduardo Paes handed the key to the city to the mythical figure who reigns over the chaos of Carnival.

“It is with much joy that I hand over command of this city to King Momo,” said mayor himself a samba dancer and percussionist who plays in the city's annual parade, the AP reported.

During the world's biggest festival rules are bent and the natural order of things is turned upside down: men dress as women, the poor parade as kings…

This year’s king the crowned and costumed Milton Rodrigues, flanked by the Carnival queen and two princesses, said it was time to put aside the city's problems and focus on the joy of being a resident of this beautiful place.

This year the celebration is expected to draw about 756,000 visitors, both foreign and Brazilian, who will pack hotels to nearly 100 percent capacity and spend about USD 559 million, according to Rio state's tourism department.

Organizers of the carnival had a lot of work to do after a fire burned through warehouses containing more than 8,000 samba group costumes on February 7. The costumes were for the dancers that should perform on Sunday and Monday.