Rio de Janeiro - Three days before its "official" beginning, the world-famous Brazilian Carnival started Thursday in the historic city of Salvador, in the northeatern state of Bahia.

According to municipal tourism body Salvatur, over 650,000 tourists were expected in the city for the event, where hotels showed an occupancy rate of over 90 per cent.

From Thursday and until the morning of next Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, some 2 million people were expected to celebrate the Salvador Carnival by following "electric trios" - stages on wheels, equipped with powerful speakers, that tour the city.

The "trios" become stages for popular music stars like Ivete Sangalo or the "queen of axe music," Daniella Mercury. (dpa)