The world's biggest carnival takes place in Rio de Janeiro. It begins on 21 February and runs through to Wednesday and traditionally attracts millions of people. But many other street parties and events have taken place worldwide over the past seven days.
Among them, there were the Venice carnival, the 'Geisterzug' carnival procession in Cologne, which included a demonstration for a better climate; a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Japan's Okayama; and the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Check out Sputnik's gallery to see the most eye-catching events of the past week.
Revellers take part in a street party during the annual 'Ceu Na Terra bloco', in the run-up to Rio's carnival, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on February 15, 2020.
Police officers talk to a protestor in a boat during a demonstration for better climate at the carnival procession 'Geisterzug' in Cologne, western Germany on February 15, 2020.
A horsewoman performs during the traditional horse game Kok-boru Championship, in the village of Kazybek, some 380 km south of the capital Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
Russian President Vladimir Putin poses for pictures with citizens of Saint Petersburg after laying flowers to the city's first mayor Anatoly Sobchak's monument on 19 February
Humpback whale in the Bellingshausen Sea in the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula
NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Newman (6) wrecks during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Lizzo performs at the Brit Awards at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, February 18, 2020
A Royal Lance Guard wears a protective facemask at the National Palace amid fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus in Kuala Lumpur on February 19, 2020.
People take part in protests in Athens against a draft law on changes in social and pensions legislation
A medical worker calls his colleague inside an isolated ward at Jinyintan Hospital in Wuhan, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak, in Hubei province, China February 13, 2020.
Men dressed in loincloths prepare to snatch a wooden stick called "shingi" tossed by the priest during a naked festival at Saidaiji Temple in Okayama, Okayama Prefecture Japan February 15, 2020. The person who grabs the wooden stick is considered the "luckiest man of the year".
A model presents a creation by fashion house Richard Quinn during the catwalk show for their Autumn/Winter 2020 collection on the second day of London Fashion Week in London on February 15, 2020.
A man kisses Pope Francis during the weekly audience at the Vatican, February 19, 2020.
Participants in the Venice carnival-2020
Patient Dagmar Turner, 53, plays violin while surgeons remove her brain tumour at King's College Hospital in London, Britain, January 31, 2020 in this handout image obtained by Reuters on February 19, 2020.
A person walks as seafoam washes up on the front walk in Saint-Guenole, western France, as storm Dennis sweeps across Brittany, on February 16, 2020.
A woman looks out of her window as geese swim past in floodwater after the River Severn bursts it's banks in Bewdley, west of Birmingham on February 16, 2020, after Storm Dennis caused flooding across large swathes of Britain.
Ring girls pose ahead of the press conference held by Deontay Wilder & Tyson Fury before the Grand Garden Arena at MGM Grand, Las Vegas, United States
The abandoned 77-metre (250-feet) cargo ship MV Alta is pictured stuck on rocks near the village of Ballycotton south-east of Cork in Southern Ireland on February 18, 2020. - A "ghost ship" drifting without a crew for more than a year washed ashore on Ireland's south coast in high seas caused by Storm Dennis, the Republic's coast guard said.
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© AP Photo / Kamran Jebreili
Ivanka Trump, the daughter and senior adviser to U.S. President Donald Trump visits the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020.
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© Sputnik / Tabyldy Kadyrbekov
Stuntman during the traditional horse game Kok-boru Championship in Kyrgyzstan
A displaced Syrian girl rides in the back of a truck on the way to Deir al-Ballut camp in Afrin's countryside along the border with Turkey, on February 19, 2020 after fleeing regime offensive on the last major rebel bastion in the country's northwest.
An artist throws flowers to people during the flower parade as part of the 136th Carnival parade in Nice, France, February 15, 2020.
Monument to the Sunken Ships in Sevastopol
A labourer arranges watermelons before the auction at Gaddiannaram wholesale fruit market in Hyderabad on February 19, 2020.
Models and dogs present creations from the Moncler Autumn/Winter 2020 collection during Milan Fashion Week in Milan, Italy February 19, 2020.
Artyom Potapov (Russia) performs during the 2019/2020 Freestyle World Cup in Moscow
Drummers and dancers forming part of a group known as a "comparsa" compete by playing and dancing to the rhythm of the traditional "candombe" music, in Montevideo on February 14, 2020, during the "Llamadas", one of the events that make up Uruguay's carnival -- the world's longest.
Hindu holy men, or sadhus, sit beside the fire at the premises of Pashupatinath Temple a day ahead of the Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu, Nepal February 20, 2020.
Dancers of the State Opera ballet perform during a dress rehearsal for the traditional Opera Ball in Vienna, Austria February 19, 2020.
