Dressed in sequined costumes, grooving to the rhythm of marching bands and clutching at strands of shiny beads, people in New Orleans celebrated the end of a Mardi Gras season tinged by tragedy after two bystanders were killed by floats in the days leading up to Fat Tuesday.

A man was struck and killed by a Mardi Gras float during a raucous weekend street parade in New Orleans, becoming the second person in days killed along a parade route during this year's Carnival season, authorities said.