Carnivals Around the World

Almost everybody knows, or has heard about, the Rio Carnival, but there are lots of other street carnivals around the world that attract millions of people. Let’s have a look at a few of them.

The Carnival of Venice (Carnavale de Venezia) is an annual festival held in Venice from January the 23th to February the 9th. The festival famous for its elaborate masks made of leather, porcelain, or glass. It is said that in the honour of the victory that the Republic of Venice got against the Patriarch of Aquileia, people started to gather and dance in San Marco Square. The carnival became official during the Renaissance. One of the most important events in this carnival is “the most beautiful mask” contest, which is judged by international fashion designers.

Cologne Carnival (Kölner Karneval) is a carnival that takes place annually in Cologne, Germany. It marks the start of carnival season and begins on November 11th, at 11:11. It is one of the largest street festivals in Europe. More than one million spectators come to Cologne Carnival to watch the many parades and stage shows. Of the many parades in the city districts, perhaps the two most popular are the ‘ghost parade’ on Saturday evening, and a colourful parade of the Cologne schools on carnival Sunday.

Notting Hill Carnival is the biggest street party in Europe, and it is held every last Sunday and Monday in August.It has taken place since 1966 on the streets of Notting Hill, London. Around one million people attend the carnival to see 50,000 performers and two-day parades. In 2006, the UK public voted it onto the list of icons of England.

Carnival of Cadiz (Los Carnavales) is one of the best-known carnivals in Spain. The whole city participates in the carnival for more than two weeks each year. In this carnival, it is traditional to paint the face as a substitute for a mask. The carnival is famous for the groups of performers called chirigotas whose music and lyrics are the center of the festival. There are contests between the groups that finish before the first Saturday of the festival.