More than one million supporters of Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, have streamed on to Rio’s most famous beach for a giant protest they hope will propel him towards a historic election fightback against his far-right rival, Flávio Bolsonaro .

Nearly 159m Brazilians will vote in the election’s runoff on Sunday, with the pair tied in the polls after Bolsonaro won the first round on 4 October by 47% to 45%.

On Saturday, under a fierce sun, red-clad crowds packed the 2.5-mile Copacabana beach in an attempt to help Lula clinch a dramatic and unprecedented comeback . Never since the return of democracy to Brazil in the 1980s has the first-round loser managed to bounce back.

Josias Silva, a 61-year-old truck driver, voiced confidence that his 80-year-old president, who was first elected in 2002, would win a fourth non-consecutive term. He carried a homemade sign to the carnival-like procession reading: “Lula re-elected.…