Best Festivals & Events Around the World

Samba schools spend all year preparing for the Sambadrome parade - thousands of dancers, floats that defy engineering, and an energy that television cannot capture. The street parties (blocos) across the city are free and arguably more fun.

The festival of colours. Strangers throw coloured powder and water at each other in the streets. Mathura and Vrindavan celebrate the longest. Wear clothes you’re prepared to throw away. Leave your camera in the hotel.

Thai New Year and the world’s largest water fight. Every street becomes a battlefield of water guns, hoses, and buckets. Chiang Mai takes it most seriously. You will get soaked. This is not negotiable.

Six million visitors, seven million litres of beer. Enormous halls with brass bands, pretzels, and people standing on benches. Weekday mornings are manageable; Saturday evenings are a scrum. Book accommodation months ahead.

Not a Mexican Halloween - it’s a celebration of the dead with ofrendas, marigolds, sugar skulls, and cemetery vigils. Oaxaca and Pátzcuaro have the most elaborate traditions. Moving if you approach it with respect.

The world’s largest arts festival. Theatre, comedy, music, and street performance across hundreds of venues. Quality varies from genius to terrible, which is part of the charm. Many shows are free.

The festival of lights. Oil lamps, fireworks, sweets, and the sense that an entire country is celebrating simultaneously. Best experienced in Rajasthan or Varanasi for the most photogenic celebrations.

The biggest annual human migration on earth. Fireworks, lion dances, temple fairs, and the fact that literally everything closes. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Penang have the most photogenic celebrations outside mainland China.

150,000 kilograms of overripe tomatoes. 20,000 people. One hour. Wear goggles, old shoes, and nothing you care about. The entire town turns red. It’s absurd, messy, and over before you’ve processed what happened.

The Inca Festival of the Sun, re-enacted at Sacsayhuamán with hundreds of performers in traditional dress. The main ceremony requires tickets; the street celebrations throughout the week are free and lively.

The biggest annual human migration on earth. If you’re in China, Southeast Asia, or any city with a significant Chinese community, the celebrations run for 15 days. Fireworks, lion dances, temple fairs, and the fact that literally everything closes. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Penang have the most photogenic celebrations outside mainland China.

The festival of colours. Strangers throw coloured powder and water at each other in the streets. Mathura and Vrindavan (near Delhi) celebrate the longest. Wear clothes you’re prepared to throw away. Leave your camera in waterproof housing or in the hotel. Chaotic, joyful, and absolutely not optional if you’re in India at the time.

Thai New Year in April, and the world’s largest water fight. Every street becomes a battlefield of water guns, hoses, and buckets. Chiang Mai takes it most seriously. Bangkok’s Khao San Road is the tourist epicentre. You will get soaked. This is not negotiable.

The festival of lights. Oil lamps, fireworks, sweets, and the sense that an entire country is celebrating simultaneously. Varanasi’s ghats lit with thousands of diyas, Jaipur’s markets overflowing with marigolds, and Delhi’s air thick with firecrackers. Best experienced in Rajasthan or Varanasi.

Fifteenth day of the Lunar New Year. In Pingxi, Taiwan, thousands of sky lanterns are released simultaneously into the night sky. In Taipei, enormous themed lantern installations light up the city. A genuinely magical visual spectacle.

Two weeks in late September and early October, six million visitors, seven million litres of beer. The beer tents are the main event - enormous halls with brass bands, pretzels, and people standing on benches. Weekday mornings are manageable; Saturday evenings are a scrum. Book accommodation months ahead. The beer is strong (6%+) and the litres add up faster than you expect.

The world’s largest arts festival, every August. Three weeks of theatre, comedy, music, and street performance scattered across hundreds of venues. The quality varies from genius to terrible, which is part of the charm. The printed programme is a phone book. Ask locals and other festival-goers what’s good. Many shows are free.

Two weeks of elaborate masks, costumes, and masked balls in February. Less raucous than Rio’s version, more theatrical. The city becomes a stage set - masked figures appearing in fog on bridges, gondolas gliding through mist. Expensive, crowded, and genuinely atmospheric.

The last Wednesday of August. An hour-long tomato fight involving 150,000 kilograms of overripe tomatoes. Tickets limited to 20,000 people. Wear goggles, old shoes, and nothing you care about. The entire town turns red. Absurd, messy, and over before you’ve processed what happened.

March 17. The parade is the centrepiece, but the city-wide festival runs for several days with music, comedy, and events. Dublin does it with more authenticity (and less green beer) than the American versions.

The samba schools spend all year preparing for the Sambadrome parade, and the scale of production is staggering - thousands of dancers, floats that defy engineering, and an energy that television doesn’t capture. The street parties (blocos) across the city are free and arguably more fun than the ticketed parade. Four days before Ash Wednesday.

October 31 to November 2. Not a Mexican Halloween - it’s a celebration of the dead, with ofrendas (altars), marigolds, sugar skulls, and cemetery vigils. Oaxaca and Pátzcuaro have the most elaborate traditions. Deeply moving if you approach it with respect rather than as a photo opportunity.

June 24. The Inca Festival of the Sun, re-enacted at Sacsayhuamán above Cusco with hundreds of performers in traditional dress. The main ceremony requires tickets; the street celebrations throughout the week are free and lively.

The weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday. Bourbon Street gets the attention, but the real Mardi Gras is the krewes and their parades through the Garden District and Uptown. The beads are tacky. The music, food, and energy are not.

Often overshadowed by Rio, but Trini Carnival is where soca music and the modern Caribbean carnival tradition originated. J’ouvert (pre-dawn paint and mud) on Monday morning and the costume bands on Tuesday are the highlights. Smaller, sweatier, and more participatory than Rio.

Ethiopian Epiphany, in January. Processions carrying replicas of the Ark of the Covenant through the streets, priests in full ceremonial dress, and mass baptisms in open-air pools. Gondar and Lalibela have the most elaborate celebrations. One of the most visually striking religious festivals anywhere.

Tuareg music festival in the Sahara near Timbuktu. Intermittently held due to security concerns, but when it runs it’s extraordinary - desert blues, nomadic culture, and music under the stars in one of the most remote inhabited places on earth.

The celebration marking the end of Ramadan. Three days of feasting, family gatherings, and charity. Istanbul, Marrakech, and Cairo are particularly vibrant. Travelling during Eid means full hotels and busy transport, but the atmosphere is generous and welcoming.

A Wodaabe courtship festival where young men compete in beauty contests - elaborate face paint, white-eyed rolling expressions, and dances meant to display charm and stamina. Held in September after the rains. One of the most unusual cultural events in West Africa, accessible only with a local guide.