Carnival time in certain cities of the world means days of drinking, dancing, frolicking and dressing up in costumes while following a parade. Carnival is typically a circus, masquerade ball and public street party rolled into one. People make a point of dressing up in masks and fancy dress costumes during the festivities.
With each boasting its own traditions for costumes, music and letting loose, here are four of the globe’s most over-the-top Carnival celebrations, all of them well worth a visit:
Brazil
The country that contains most of the Amazon rainforest is home to the biggest Carnival celebrations in the world, with Rio de Janeiro’s version of the fete widely considered by far the best. Dubbed the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ by the Brazilians, Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival is officially a competition between the city’s many samba schools. More than 70,000 people pack the Sambódromo to watch the 3-day parade of dancers and floats while listening and pulsing to samba, a music deeply rooted in Afro-Brazilian culture.
Italy
Carnival, a word that comes from the Latin for ‘removal of flesh’, is known as Carnevale in Italy. In Venice, during the festivities you will find masked figures packing St Mark’s Square and the rest of the city’s main piazzas. Carnevale revellers here traditionally attend fancy dress balls and street parties. The month-long carnival of Viareggio, however, is considered one of the best in Europe and is characterised by its parade of floats and caricatures of popular figures. In 2001, the city built a ‘Carnival citadel ’ for carnival parties, which usually include cheap fancy dress parties and even pirate fancy dress fetes.
Canada
Quebec’s Winter Carnival, held in late January/early February, is the world’s largest winter-themed carnival. It depends on good snowfalls and freezing temperatures in order to keep its ski trails snowy and in good condition. Here, Quebecois build snow and ice sculptures as big as real-life castles, and on the last day, they race canoes on the St Lawrence river.
Germany
Although party season in Germany officially begins on 11 November at 11:11am, Carnival itself begins on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday and ends on the later date. Cologne Carnival is the biggest and most famous of all of Germany. On Carnival Thursday — known as Women’s Day or Old Women Day — women storm city buildings, cut men’s ties and often kiss any man nearby.
