The world's best festivals and carnivals
21.07.2023 - 08:23
/ roughguides.com
If you're looking to combine your next trip with a world-class festival or a mind-blowing carnival, then look no further. Here, from the pages of Make The Most Of Your Time On Earth , we present ten of the best parades, parties and processions across the world.
Sydney is probably the world’s most gay-friendly city and its annual Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is a huge red- (or should that be pink?) letter day, drawing a bigger crowd than any other annual event in Australia. One of the world's best festivals, it’s a full-on celebration of gay culture, and a joyous demonstration of pride; but it’s enjoyable for people of any sexuality, provided partial nudity, G-strings, wild unleashings of inhibitions and senseless acts of kindness don’t offend.
The parade route runs from Hyde Park, through the city’s gay quarter, to Moore Park. Pumped-up marshals, searchlights, flares, fireworks, strobes and dance music from all the nearby clubs bring the throng to a fever pitch of anticipation – a perfect build-up to the gleaming Harley Davidsons of the Dykes on Bikes, who have heralded the start of the parade for many years. Vast floats, effigies and marching troupes follow in their wake – everything from two hundred drag Madonnas in cowgirl hats, to three hundred Barbara Cartlands in pink-sequined evening gowns, or mist-enshrouded boats carrying Thai princes and princesses.
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras takes place mid-Feb to early March, see www.mardigras.org.au for full details.
The country’s most important and spectacular party, Junkanoo is a blast to the senses. It’s organized pandemonium, held in the pre-dawn hours on two days each year – December 26 and New Year’s Day. It has its roots in Africa, and is reminiscent of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras and Rio’s Carnival, but really, Junkanoo is distinctively Bahamian.
Parades flood the streets of Nassau and various groups and societies compete to have the biggest and loudest floats, which means you’ll see stilt-dancers, clowns, acrobats, go-go girls, goatskin drummers and conch and cowbell players. Behind, in Nassau Harbour, the looming cruise ships form almost a surreal counterpoint to the phantasmagoric crowds, who stamp and clamour in time to the music.
See https://www.bahamas.com/uk/node/55281 for information.
A riot of colour, music, dance, alcohol, religion and tradition, every Maya village in Guatemala celebrates its patron saint’s day with a life-affirming festival. You’ll find the village square packed with trinket-selling traders, a fairground with dodgy-looking rides, festival queens wearing exquisite huipiles (blouses made from hand-woven textiles) paraded on floats and an endless array of machine-gun-style firecrackers andbombas (ear-drum-splitting