Top 10 World Party Events
1. Carnival – Rio De Janerio
Rio De Janerio is regarded as the Carnival Capital of the World. It is the biggest carnival, and almost 500,000 foreigners visit this place every year. It is a 4 day celebration, 40 days before Easter, on the months of February, when summer is at its peak.
The Rio Carnival is an opportunity for foreigners to know the culture of Brazil. Alongside dancing, singing, and partying, the whole city of Rio takes pride in this carnival. The Samba Parade is more than just a parade, it’s a competition between Samba schools, where costumes and floats were created and practice takes months to complete.
2. Running of the Bulls – Spain
Running of the bulls which starts from July 7th to 14th in Pamplona, Spain, is the most favorite festival in terms of spectacle and excitement. This event is to honor Navaree capital’s patron saint, San Fermin.
Young men gather at the starting lawn on the daybreak of July 7th. Together, they sing to their patron for blessing. As soon as a rocket goes off, numerous fighting bulls go onto the streets. A second one goes off to signify that the bulls are on the street. All of the bulls run along the narrow street which is half a mile to the ring, while the young men who are runners dash in front of the balls, as close as possible to them, while trying to avoid their sharp horns. While this is happening, some of the runners look for a gap in the fence to go through or they just jump over, as part of the exhilarating excitement. When the bulls finally reach the end of the street, they go into pens and are kept until later that day they are killed in a bullfight.
The adrenaline rush is so intense that only a few daring souls ran with the bulls. However, people from all over the world now run with the bulls to experience this feeling for fun and excitement.
3. La Tomatina – Spain
Held every last Wednesday of August each year in the town of Buñol in the Valencia region of Spain is the La Tomatina festival. It’s a week long food fight festival where tons of overripe tomatoes are thrown on the streets and at anyone passing by. The night before the festival, participants engage in a paella cooking contest. The festival features music, parades, dancing, and fireworks. During the tomato fight, all women are required to wear white, while all men do not wear any shirts. The festival was created in honor of St. Louis Bertrand, the town’s patron saint. But no one exactly knew how the tomato fight started. There were lots of theories, however, it ensued for years to come, bringing in around 20,000-50,000 tourists to learn about the tomato fight.
4. Edinburgh Festival – Edinburgh
A three day celebration on Aug 6th-8th, the Edinburgh Festival is comprised of a variety of festivals celebrated each year. This includes the International Festival, The Fringe, Book Festival, Military Tattoo, Jazz Festival and Edinburgh Mela. During the peak festival, thousands of tourists visit while a lot of performers stage the events to amuse the audience. This festival traces its root back to a post war effort to “provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit”.
5. Oktoberfest – Munich
One of the most popular events celebrated in Munich, Germany, Oktoberfest is known as the biggest beer festival in the world! Celebrated annually, as a staggering 16-day beer festival in Munich, Germany, the massive spectacle attracts large visitors worldwide. But believe it or not, there’s more to the event than just getting smashed – Oktoberfest plays an important role in Bavarian culture. Be prepared to visit all of the Oktoberfest tents, sample their scrumptious dishes, from Bavarian Sausages, suckling pig, to roasted ox loin, you will be truly satisfied with your heart’s content. Enjoy their world class beer, live bands, dancing, and more! The Oktoberfest is one of the most popular festivals in the world that can’t be missed.
6. Songkran Thai New Year – Thailand
The most celebrated festival in Thailand during the month of April, Songkran Festival is known as the Thai New Year or the “Water Festival”. Thai people believe that water will wash away evil or bad luck during this important celebration. Everywhere you go, anyone on the street will be wet with water. Adults, elderly, children, and even people riding in vehicles shoot water using their water gun at anyone on the street. This is a good time for splashing water as April is the hottest month of the year. Beauty pageants are even held at different cities in Thailand, there are a lot of performers and a great food fair. A lot of foreigners visit major cities such as Bangkok, Phuket, and Koh Samui, where they partake in the water shooting festival.
7. Full Moon Parties – Ko Samui, Thailand
An island nestled on the gulf of Thailand, full moon parties held in Ko Samui are popular to backpackers and travelers. This party is held once a month under a full moon, and had been attracting lots of travelers all over the world. Expect the usual host of DJs playing music until the wee hours of the morning ranging from eclectic mix of music, trance and techno to reggae, house and drum and bass. After a hard party, there are ferries which can take you from island to island or along the coast where there are popular beach resorts or five star hotels.
8. Il Palio – Sienna, Italy
Il Palio is known as Palio horse race, which is a popular Italian event that takes place yearly every July 2nd and August 16th. This traces back to celebrate the miraculous apparition of the Virgin Mary near the old houses that belonged to Provenzano Salvani. The celebration on July 2 is celebrated in honor of Madonna di Provenzano, who has a church in Siena, while the celebration on August 16 is for the honor of the Assumption of Mary.
This death-defying two- minute dash of the horses and its jockeys are what attracts spectators worldwide. Horses and riders are dressed in their particular colors and are called Contrade, comprising of 17 cities. They run around the boundary of the city’s majestic Piazza del Campo and whoever wins, the whole residents of the Contrade sings and celebrates their victory until the wee hours of the morning.
9. Defqon International Rave – Held in a different country each year
Known to be the largest outdoor hard dance event in the world, Defqon Festival had been celebrated for almost 8 years already. Popular for its famous DJs for dance music and top productions, a lot of tourists visit the festival. It had been celebrated in the Netherlands, Australia, and all over the world in different countries. Netherlands is the center of hard dancing and good quality productions, and home to the events company Q-dance.
10. Love Parade – Berlin
Originating in 1898 in Berlin, Germany, the Love Parade is a popular celebration tracing back in 1898 months before the demolition of the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Underground was held as a political demonstration of peace and understanding through love and music.
Held in July each year, the parade has a lot of floats, each having their own music system. It is a massive celebration of techno, the re-unification of Berlin, and all things wacky, tacky, and wild. The music played at the events is predominantly electronic dance music: in this case mainly Trance, House, Techno, and Schranz music. It’s a huge big party that will keep you up to the huge crowd, the loud music, and the very colorful parade.