The pre-Lent celebrations that began Friday attracted 250,000 more people than expected, bringing an estimated $500 million in revenue to the seaside city that will host the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics.
First-time visitors to the never-ending revelry were exhausted.
"I didn't realize it would literally go on all the time," said Rosie Wigmore, a 19-year-old visitor from Brighton, England, who tried to veer off the Carnival path and visit an art gallery, only to be swept up in yet another street band's entourage.
"You would never have this in England," she said. "If you had this many people, and everyone drinking, you'd have fights."
Final 20 or so street parties were planned around town Wednesday, in a slight bending of tradition, which dictates that Carnival ended at noon on Ash Wednesday.
About 450 street bands paraded this year, the Rio tourism department said. It said the city had an estimated 1 million visitors, above the expected 750,000. About 40 percent of them were foreign.
With free-for-all street parties winding down, Rio residents turned their attention to the samba parade competition. In a city where allegiances to Carnival groups runs deep, rivaling residents' dedication to football teams, the announcement of this year's winner for best overall presentation in the two-day parade was eagerly awaited.
Fans gathered in the groups' home bases, in communities and shantytowns spread around Rio. When the judges tallied the points for each group and announced Beija-Flor took first place - its 12th - the group's following erupted in cheers and tears, kicking off a celebration that would last into the night.
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