Mardi Gras: Eight of the world's biggest Carnival parties

Parades, street parties and folklore that turn routines upside down. Carnival has arrived again, but where will you find the biggest and best carnival parties in the world?

Two Carnival dancers pose for a selfie in Curacao, southern Caribbean Source: Unsplash/Quinten de Graaf

The exact dates of carnival celebrations vary from one year to the next but they typically begin just before the Christian period of Lent between February and early March. 

World Carnivals offer local twists, mixing and matching the traditional wearing of masks and costumes, the holding of parades, and raucous street parties. They also often feature pre-Christian elements and traditions such as the Roman Saturnalia and other festivities that honoured Greek god Dionysus or Bacchus in antiquity. 

Anthropologists generally consider Carnival and Mardi Gras to be an heir to the ancient celebrations of the end of winter and the imminent arrival of spring.

So where are we celebrating this year? Check out these eight massive Carnival and Mardi Gras parties from across the planet.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL

A reveller of the Beija-Flor samba school performs during the second night of Rio's Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP/Getty) Source: MAURO PIMENTEL/AFP/Getty Images

In Brazil it is often said that the working year doesn’t start until the end of Carnival. For five days before Ash Wednesday (the start of Christianity's Lent), Brazilians dance and party in the streets, or if you are in Rio de Janeiro, to watch the biggest. most spectacular parade on Earth; the samba schools’ parade on the Sambadrome.

There is where the magical ‘Symphony of Samba’ starts, with the ‘bateria’ (an orchestra of drums) slowly moving through thousands of revelers. Cameras and eager spectators typically focus on the beautiful passistas who move along, dripping in sweat, forever smiling.

NEW ORLEANS, USA

The Butterfly King float makes its way toward the Canal Street turn on during a Mardi Gras parade, March 4, 2014, in New Orleans (AAP Image/AP Photo/NO) Source: AAP Image/AP Photo/NOLA.com The Times-Picayune, David Grunfeld

Mardi Gras celebrations in New Orleans are known to consume the entire city with parades, frivolity and classic carnival madness for two whole weeks.

The parades run by ‘krewes’ – social clubs who collaborate on separate parades following the same route each year – are the most iconic part of the New Orleans celebrations. As a veritable melting pot of cultures old and new, New Orleans’ Mardi Gras parties are the most raucous and colourful in North America.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES: The 2018 Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade on March 3, 2018 in Sydney, Australia (Brook Mitchell/Getty Images) Source: Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is a month-long festival of art and culture culminating in one of the largest LGBTQI pride parades in the world.

Standing on the foundations laid by LGBTQI activists in the 20^th century, this Mardi Gras party is a joyous celebration of diversity, liberty and inclusion. Owing to its activist roots, the festival is known for its political flavour as well as being enormous fun, with participants regularly using the festival and parade to advocate for social change.

VENICE, ITALY

The party of all the Venetians who inaugurate the Carnival (AAP Image/Matteo Chinellato/IPA Milestone) Source: AAP Image/Matteo Chinellato/IPA Milestone

Venice’s world-famous Carnival dates back to the 11^th century and transforms the enchanting Italian city every year with the populace dressed up to celebrate.

The 'Carnevale di Venezia' is famous for its masks. The most typical local costume is called a 'Bauta', and is made of a white mask worn with a black cape and black cocked hat to grant anonymity to the wearer.

The partying culminates on 'martedì grasso' (literally: 'fat Tuesday'), the day before the start of Lent. Due to the growing numbers of visitors, this year’s Carnevale has put a limit to the number of people who can access the celebration.

PATRA, GREECE

Patras, GREECE: Participants of the most famous Greek carnival, dance in the streets to mark the last day of the carnival (AFP PHOTO/Louisa Gouliamaki) Source: AFP PHOTO/Louisa Gouliamaki

The history of Carnival in Patra dates back to ancient times and is associated with pagan rituals celebrating Dionysus, the god of wine, fertility, fruitfulness and vegetation, among other things.

However, the modern version of Patra’s Carnival began back in 1829, while parade floats appeared in the 1870s,  influenced by the Venice Carnevale.

Two major highlights include the grand parade and a massive treasure hunt between Carnival clans who must crack riddles to find clues hidden around the city. The closing of the Carnival sees the burning of the Carnival King effigy in the Patras Harbour.

TENERIFE, SPAIN

Carnival group 'Los Valleiros' perfoms on stage during a competition in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 18 February 2017. EPA/RAMON DE LA ROCHA Source: AAP Image/EPA/RAMON DE LA ROCHA

The Spanish Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife dates back to the 16th century when the custom was brought to the Canary Islands from Italian merchants.

Since 1987, this Carnival has held a Guinness World Record for the largest outdoor dance, in which more than 200,000 people participate.

Costumes are key to the Tenerife Carnival as people dedicate weeks or even months to develop their elaborate, entertaining outfits. Thousands of tourists also flock to see the Queen of the Carnival of Tenerife, along with her court of honor, comparsa singing troupes and floats.

BINCHE, BELGIUM

Festival participants known as Gilles wear traditional costumes during celebrations in the streets of Binche, Belgium, 28 February 2017. EPA/STEPHANIE LECOCQ Source: EPA/STEPHANIE LECOCQ

Taking place in the French-speaking Belgian town of Binche, this Carnival party dates right back to the 14^th century. Clownish performers known as 'Gilles' parade and perform throughout the town over a festive few days to ward off evil spirits.

The partying and their performance culminate on the final day when the Gilles, wearing extravagant ostrich-plumed hats, march through the streets hurling blood oranges into – and occasionally at – the thousands of crowd members assembled to watch them.

COLOGNE, GERMANY

A float featuring U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin drives in the annual Roseparade in Germany.(Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images) Source: Maja Hitij/Getty Images

Germany’s number one carnival has been celebrated for centuries, despite the authorities trying to reign in its excesses as early as 1341 when the city decreed that “no more public funds” would be given to “vastavende,” as the carnival was known back then.

Today, Cologne's Carnival is a major tourist drawcard, generating up to 600 million Euros in six days, including 110 million spent on costumes – often as politically charged as the satirical parade floats. 6,500 jobs are linked to the festivities too and up to one million people watch the traditional Rosenmontagszug Parade.