The Limón Carnival is set to go ahead despite the threat of closure should its organizers fail to meet sanitation regulations.

Last week the Health Ministry suspended the carnival on the grounds that organizers had failed to clear garbage from the streets and provide adequate toilet facilities for the 5,000 party-goers expected to attend.

Organizers have since assured the Health Minister María Luisa Avila that these problems have been resolved and today issued a program of events which run throughout the weekend.

Similar to the Rio Carnival in Brazil, the streets of Limón are expected to come alive this weekend with dancers, fancy dress, parades, floats and music.

As tradition dictates, the highlight of the carnival, the Grand Parade, starts at noon on Saturday and snakes through the centre of Limón, finishing at the Gimnasio Eddy Bermúdez.

The festival is a celebration of the port town's cultural history, although in recent years it has been cancelled due to inadequate sanitary conditions in Limón.