European
Festivals are not as dull as they may sound! Italy's Venice Carnival,
for example, is one of the world's most colourful events, set in an exquisite
location and with little chance of armed robbery on your person. Or there's
the mad Edinburgh Arts Festival, another world-beating affair that will
knock your dull brown socks off. Get out there and explore!
Dates
are sometimes unconfirmed and occasionally
unreliable, so check before booking.
TBC [A] = to be confirmed [announced]
2008
Festival dates and information:
Feb | March | April
| May | June | July
| August | Sept | Oct
| Nov | Dec
January
2008 Map
of Europe
29
Dec - 1 January 2008 |
SCOTLAND
Edinburgh Hogmanay - a truly wild and
wooly underwear occasion, with a torchlight procession, a Fire Festival,
fireworks, concerts and much insobriety, in a city dark yet strangely
light... Edinburgh
Travel |
Pictures
|
| 22
- 27 January '08 |
SWEDEN
Kiruna Snow Festival - It's all white
in the snowy north as reindeers race, dog sleds drift and artists
sculpt ice into fantasy forms. |
| 20,
27 Jan, 3, 5 and 10 February 2008 |
ITALY Viareggio Carnival - Italy's maddest
event with parades sporting huge puppets among the kaleidoscope folk,
revelry of all sorts and fireworks...BUT mainly on successive Sundays.
Italy
Travel | Italy
Pictures |
| 26
Jan - 5 February 2008 |
ITALY
Venice Carnival - colourful, fascinating,
funny and a superbly costumed environment. For the full flavour, rent
a costume and go to a ball [the poshest is the Doge's Ball]. Venice
Carnival Photos | Venice
Guide |
February
2008 Map
of Europe
26
Jan - 5 February 2008 |
ITALY
Venice Carnival - colourful, fascinating,
funny and a superbly costumed environment. For the full flavour, rent
a costume and go to a ball [the poshest is the Doge's Ball]. Venice
Carnival Photos | Venice
Guide |
| 20,
27 Jan, 3, 5 and 10 February 2008 |
ITALY Viareggio Carnival - Italy's maddest
event with parades sporting huge puppets among the kaleidoscope folk,
revelry of all sorts and fireworks...BUT mainly on successive Sundays.
Italy
Travel | Italy
Pictures |
2
- 4 February 2008 |
GERMANY
Cologne Carnival - Germany's answer to
Mardi Gras, a huge event marking the beginning of Lent, local festivities
and a monster Rose Monday [parade]. Germany
Guide |
| 31
Jan - 4 February 2008 |
GERMANY
Dusseldorf Carnival - another massive
and outrageously kaleidoscopic occasion, Sunday is probably the best
[wacky dress] parade. Germany
Guide |
| 2
- 5 February 2008 |
ITALY
Ivrea Carnival, Piedmont district of
Turin - another colourful carnival, but with a different ending as
the whole town partakes in a monstrous orange fight. Wear a tall,
red hat if you don't wish to participate. Italy
Guide | Italy
Photos |
| 3
- 5 February 2008 |
BELGIUM
Binche Carnival - one of the country's
wildest parties, a UNESCO Heitage evet, half an hour south of Brussels.
Sunday and Tuesday are best. Belgium
Guide |
| 16
Feb - 2 March
[not every day] '08 |
FRANCE
Nice Carnival, the Cote d'Azur - a brilliant
event on the lovely promenade of a terrific city, but not every day
and parades are basically the same so one is probably enough.
Carnival
Pictures and Information |
March
2008 Map
of Europe
| 13
- 17 March 2008 |
IRELAND,
Dublin St Patrick's Day Parade - a wild,
green five days, including a huge parade. p.s. What's the difference
between an Irish wedding and a funeral? There's one less drunk person
at the funeral. Ireland
Travel |
| 14
- 30 March 2008 |
HUNGARY
Budapest Spring Music Festival - all
sorts of arts, music, drama, dance, exhibitions, poetry and kid's
stuff, local and international, in a pleasant city. Budapest
Travel Guide | Budapest
Pictures |
15-19 '08
[Same date every year] |
SPAIN Las Fallas in Valencia - a wild and explosive [literally] carnival/fiesta combination that will blow your socks off, locals spend 5 days partying with parades, pageants and moderate fireworks then, on the last night, they turn off all the city lights and set fire to hundreds of massive statues stuffed with fireworks around the city. Kaboom. Spain Guide |
April
2008 Map
of Europe
| 8
- 13 April 2008 |
SPAIN
La Feria de Abril [April Fair] in Seville
- Seville's best party with traditional dress, parades, dancing and
wild parties in a gorgeous environment. Seville
Travel Guide | Seville
Pictures |
| 23
March 2008 |
ITALY,
Florence Scoppio del Carro
- festively exploding a cart in Piazza del Duomo on
Easter Sunday. What madness is this? Florence
Travel Guide |
|
26 April - 1 July 2008 |
ITALY,
Florence Maggio Musicale Fiorentino -
Italy's oldest music event focuses on opera, ballet and concerts.
Florence Travel
Guide |
30
April 2008
[same date every year] |
NETHERLANDS,
Amsterdam Orange Festival [Queens Day],
for lovers of the colour orange, beer and dope. Amsterdam
Travel | Amsterdam
Photos |
30
April - 1 May
[same date every year] |
FINLAND,
Helsinki Vappu
- a lively May Day celebration, particularly for students of
alcoholic excess. Helsinki
Travel | Finland
Pictures |
May
2008 Map
of Europe
| 29
April - 5 May 2008 |
ENGLAND,
Gloucestershire, Cheltenham International Jazz
Festival - the UK's top jazz fest in a lovely location. England
Travel Guide |
| 1
May - 30 June 2008 |
AUSTRIA
Vienna Festival - wide range of arts,
especially music, naturally, but also dance and theatre, all set in
magnificent buildings. Vienna
Travel | Vienna
Photos |
| 15
May - 19 Oct '08
[same date every year] |
FRANCE
Chaumont Garden Festival - 30 wonderful
and sometimes wacky show gardens around a perfect chateau [castle],
every year. France
Travel Guide |
17
May 2008
[same date every year] |
NORWAY,
Oslo Constitution
Day - celebrates independence from Denmark, with folk music,
parades, entertainment and people in traditional costumes. Oslo
Travel Guide | Norway
Pictures |
| 20
- 24 May 2008 |
ENGLAND,
London
Chelsea
Flower Show - 11 acres of the UK's [and arguably Europe's]
best flowers and gardens event, with plenty of original, even wacky
ideas. London Travel
Guide | London
Pictures |
| 21
May - 7 June 2008 |
ENGLAND,
Somerset
Bath International Music Festival -
classical and other musical styles in this, the most classical of
all UK cities. England
Travel Guide |
31
May
[same date every year] 2008 |
ENGLAND
Cooper's Hill Cheese Rolling in
Brockworth, near Gloucester - dozens of borderline bonkers men fling
themselves down a precipitous hill attempting to catch huge rounds
of cheese. It's illegal and bones get broken, so a remarkable sight
in this nanny state of England. England
Travel Guide |
June
2008 Map
of Europe
| 1
day in June TBC |
BELGIUM,
Hainaut The Golden Chariot and Battle of Lumecon
- Saint George fights the dragon and everybody pushes a vast
and holy chariot around town. Belgium
Travel Guide |
| 17
- 21 June 2008 |
ENGLAND,
Ascot, Berkshire Royal
Ascot Horse Racing - The poshest of posh UK events, with mad
hats de rigeur for ladies and tails for gents. UK
Sports |
21
June
[same date every year] |
ENGLAND,
Wiltshire Stonehenge Summer Solstice -
midsummer night ritual with all sorts of druids, hippies and new age
wackos. Fascinating, especially if the weather is OK! Stonehenge
Pictures And Information |
21
June
[same date every year] |
FRANCE,
Paris Fete de la Musique - free! A monster
musical celebration all over this lovely city. Professionals mix with
amateurs playing different sounds in different locations. Paris
Travel |
Photos |
| 23
June - 6 July 2008 |
ENGLAND,
London Wimbledon Tennis Tournament -
the most prestigious tennis event in the world. UK
Sports | London
Pictures |
24
June
[same date every year] |
ITALY,
Florence
Festival of Saint John - parades, dances and more. Florence
Guide |
| 27
- 29 June 2008 |
ENGLAND
Glastonbury Festival, Somerset - a massive,
multiple music event, with different stages featuring different music,
but heavy on soft/hard rock variations. The closest to Woodstock most
of us will ever get. Tickets are VERY difficult to acquire.
Information | England
Travel Guide |
| 3
weeks in June, July 2008 |
SPAIN,
Granada International Festival of Dance and
Music - a superb event in varied, amazing locations such as
the Alhambra. Spain
Travel Guide |
Banned
for a year due to excessive violence |
ITALY,
Florence Calcio Storico - crazed and
brutal but traditional 15thC costumed football matches with 4 teams,
27 players each side and no effective referee. Florence
Travel. |
June
- August 2008
|
SPAIN, Barcelona Summer Festival [del Grec]
- theatre, dance and music. Barcelona
Guide |
Photos |
July
2008 Map
of Europe
mid
July TBA '08
|
GERMANY,
Berlin Love Parade - the wackiest of
local festivals, a weekend of ecstatic body-baring by 1.5 million
techno- ravers. Google translation from German: The Love parade
lives. Diagonally, schrill and color-gladly...Sounds about right
to me. Berlin Travel |
All
July - early August
|
SPAIN, Barcelona Summer Festival [del Grec]
- theatre, dance and music. Barcelona
Travel |
Photos |
| early
July TBA '08 |
ITALY,
Siena Il
Palio -
a few days of partying in this gorgeous town culminate in a brief
but totally insane bareback horse race through the town. Also August
16. Italy
Travel Guide | Siena
Picture |
| 3
& 5 July, 9 Aug, 13 & 20 Sept; in different
Rhine locations. '08 |
GERMANY Rhine in Flames down the Rhine river
from Linz to Bonn on 5 summer nights - a massive and amazing co-ordinated
fireworks display from boats, stately buildings and the surrounding
countryside. Germany
Travel |
| 5-6 July '08 |
ENGLAND, Bognor Birdman in
Bognor Regis, West Sussex - wildly costumed nutters jump-fly off Bognor
pier attempting to win a big distance prize, or just 15 seconds of
celebrity. Audiences chilll on the beach. England
Travel Guide |
6
- 14 July 2008
[same date every year] |
SPAIN,
Pamplona, Los Sanfermines [Bull Running]
- don't be bored, be gored! Six bulls are released into the streets
every morning of this seven day Basque rite-of-manhood party. You
too can battle the big horns. See the excellent Sanfermin
site. Spain
Guide |
| 4
- 19 July 2008 |
SWITZERLAND
Montreux International Jazz Festival -
all sorts of non-classical music featured, in spite of the name, in
an appealing location on the shore of Lake Geneva. Switzerland
Travel | Switzerland
Photos |
| 11
- 13 July '08 |
NETHERLANDS
[HOLLAND], Rotterdam North Sea Jazz Festival
- perhaps the biggest jazz gathering in the world with over 20,000
visitors a day. Lots of big name acts. Netherlands
Map |
| 14
- 27 July '08 |
IRELAND,
Galway Galway Arts Festival - Ireland's
biggest arts jamboree, with all kinds of entertainment, street, theatre,
music, kid's, exhibitions, concerts... Ireland
Travel Guide |
13
- 14 July
[same
date every year] |
FRANCE,
Paris Bastille
Day -
parties, parades, fireworks, picnics. Paris
Guide | Paris
Photos |
18
- 20 July '08
[the third Fri/Sat/Su every year]Saturday is the big day.
|
ITALY,
Venice Festa del Redentore -
the Festival of the Redeemer celebrating the end of the plague involves hundreds of beautifully decorated and illuminated boats full of beautifully decorated Venetians that gather around sunset, have dinner on board or beside the Giudecca canal, then watch one of Europe's best fireworks displays at 11.30pm on Saturday night. Venice Travel
Guide | Venice Pictures |
| 4 - 6 July '08 |
TURKEY
Kirkpinar
Oiled Wrestling Festival in Edirne - 1,000 oily fat boys in tight leather trousers get
slapped about, accompanied by ethnic music, belly-dancing and more. Turkey
Travel Guide |
Turkey Pictures |
| 18-20
July '08 |
GERMANY
Christopher Street Day in Berlin - the
monster Gay Pride parade and street party. Berlin
Travel Guide |
| 25
July - 28 August '08 |
GERMANY
Wagner Festival at Bayreuth - very expensive
and elitist, held in the unusual theatre that Wagner built. Germany
Travel |
| 31
July - 3 Aug '08 |
ENGLAND,
Cambridge Cambridge
Folk Festival - the real deal for the folks who like the music.
'A festival with a prestigious reputation for quality music in intimate
surroundings. ' England
Travel | web
site |
| 25
- 27 July '08 |
ENGLAND,
Charlton Park, Wiltshire WOMAD -
[World of Music Arts and Dance] impressive world music festival, with
70 artists from 30 countries on 7 stages. Family friendly. |
| 26
July - 31 August '08 |
AUSTRIA
Salzburg Festival - opera and concerts.
'Europe's most prestigious summer musical event.' Very large, very
expensive. Every year in Mozart's pretty home town. Austria
Travel Guide | Salzburg
Pictures |
| 29
July TBA |
SPAIN
Fiesta of Near Death Experience in As
Neves, Galicia - lucky survivors get carried in their coffins in a
procession. Spain
Travel Guide | Spain
Photos |
August
2008 Map
of Europe
| 3
& 5 July, 9 Aug, 13 & 20 Sept; in different
Rhine locations. '08 |
GERMANY Rhine in Flames down the Rhine river
from Linz to Bonn on 5 summer nights - a massive and amazing co-ordinated
fireworks display from boats, stately buildings and the surrounding
countryside. Germany
Travel |
| 10
- 12 August '08 [International] |
IRELAND
Puck Fair - Ireland Puck
Fair in Killorglin, County Kerry. A large and loony street
fair with plenty of singing, dancing and horse shows, and all overseen
by King Puck - a goat. Ireland
Guide |
8
- 31August [International] '08
3 - 25 August [Fringe] '08 |
SCOTLAND
Edinburgh International Festival, and Fringe
Festival - over a thousand shows of all kinds, ranging from
opera to stand-up comedy, from near porn to mere corn. A monster art
attack in a great city. Not to be missed.
Edinburgh Festival Pictures | Edinburgh
Guide | International
Festival |
Fringe |
16-24
August '08
|
SPAIN,
Malaga Feria de Malaga - the biggest
party in town with fancy dress, exotic food and dance, and fireworks.
Spain Travel
| Spain
Pictures |
| mid
August - early Sept |
FINLAND,
Helsinki Helsinki Festival - an arts
festival including concerts, performance arts, parties and children's
events. Helsinki
Guide | Finland
Pictures |
1 week mid August
[3rd Sat. of every August] |
SPAIN,
Bilbao Aste Nagusia [Big Week
in Basque language] - a big basque celebration including free concerts,
fireworks nightly and strong man contests. Spain
Guide | Spain
Photos |
| 17
- 24 August '08 |
IRELAND
Fleadh Ceoil - a huge celebration of
Irish music, dance and arts, with over 10,000 musicians roaming and
playing all over the place. Hosted by a different town every year;
2005 in Tullamore in County Offaly. Ireland
Travel |
27
August 2008
[last Wed. of every August] |
SPAIN
La Tomatina at Buñol town in Valencia
- a huge and incredibly messy public fight with 25 tons of tomatoes,
one day. Big kids should get down to Bunol and let rip. Spain
Travel | Spain
Pictures |
September
2008 Map
of Europe
| 6
September '08 |
SCOTLAND,
Braemar Highland Games - traditionally odd Scottish sporting events and massed
pipers in a scenic setting. Scotland
Travel |
20
Sept- 5 October '08
18
Sept- 3 October '09 |
GERMANY,
Munich Oktoberfest mainly about downing
vast quantities of beer and bratwurst, then behaving badly with your
neighbours. Key requirements: 1] Love beer 2] Love sausages 3] Love
drunk Germans. |
| 25
- 28 September '08 |
IRELAND, Galway International Oyster Festival - with fun events of all sorts. Ireland
Travel |
October
2008 Map
of Europe
14 - 23 October TBC |
HUNGARY Budapest Autumn Music Festival - all
sorts of arts, music, drama, dance, exhibitions, poetry and kid's
stuff. Budapest
Travel | Budapest
Photos |
16
October - 2 Nov '08 |
IRELAND,
Wexford Wexford Opera Festival - a small
but perfectly formed and positively regarded event in a brand new
Opera House on a new date. Ireland
Travel |
| October/November |
FRANCE,
Paris, Salon du Chocolat - every aspect
of the brown wonder-drug is explored at this lengthy celebration in
Paris' Port de Versailles. Paris
Guide | Paris
Pictures |
November
2008 Map
of Europe
5
November
[same day every year] |
ENGLAND,
Devon Ottery
St. Mary Tar Barrels - huge flaming barrels are carried
around this little rural town. Devon Travel |
| 21
November '08
[same date every year] |
ITALY,
Venice La
Salute
- a religious festival at the beautiful Basilica Santa Maria della
Salute. Venice
Pictures | Venice
Guide |
| Late
Nov - 23 Dec |
GERMANY, nationwide,
Christmas
Markets. This chilly winter country has a history of wonderfully warm, colourful and fattening Christmas markets set in spectacular locations. Some of the best are: Esslingen [medieval costumes and carols]; Wurzburg [snow probable]; Berncastel-Kues [arguably the prettiest]; Hamelin [Pied Piper's home so kid friendly!]; Heidelberg [lots of kid's stuff]; Lubeck [UNESCO World Heritage Site]; Regensburg [superbly lit and romantic]; Rothenburg [medieval Disneyland].... Germany
Travel |
December
2008 Map
of Europe
| All
December |
DENMARK,
Copenhagen Tivoli Gardens
- special events for Christmas celebrations. Copenhagen
Travel |
| 10-23
December |
FINLAND,
Helsinki St Thomas Christmas Market
- including the Lucia parade on the 13th, crafts, special foods
etc...mainly at Esplanade Park. Helsinki
Guide |
| 31
December |
AUSTRIA,
Vienna Kaiserball - waltzing into Vienna's
glamorous ball season is this, the ultimate in posh dances, set in
the Hofburg Palace. No expense spared. Vienna
Guide | Vienna
Photos |
Europe
Festivals information © bugbog.com
|
