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Despite being the second smallest continent of the world, Europe has never failed to amaze us with its vibrant and rich culture. From having mouth-watering European delicacies to having a mesmerising view right from the top of the Eiffel tower, you can experience it all in this beautiful continent. Europe is also famous for its different cultures and music festivals which take place throughout the year. Let us look at the 8 fascinating festivals in Europe which happen every year.

The Carnival of Venice

If you are someone who is fond of mask parties or festivals, this might be a must-visit festival for you. The carnival became a public festivity in 1296. However, the modern version of this festival began only around 1979, in order to revive the culture of the city of Venice. Almost 3 million people attend this festival every year in the month of March and participate in the games and activities of this versatile festival, which goes on for 20 days. Competitions which are inspired by old Venetian traditions, water parades, and a grand ball are some of the fun activities which are enjoyed during this festival.  The streets are filled with masked people who are in an extremely festive mood.

St Patrick’s day

St Patrick’s day is a cultural as well as a religious festival that takes place on 17th March every year, which is also marks the death anniversary of Saint Patrick, who was the foremost patron saint of Ireland. The holiday is celebrated to pay tribute to the Irish culture, which is usually done by enjoying traditional Irish food, music, dancing and grand parades. Marked most distinctly by the colour green of the shamrock, people dress up in the same colour and march across the streets. This festival is also called the festival of alcohol as the Lentil prohibitions on alcohol end on St Patrick’s day. The first St. Patrick’s Festival was held over one single day and night, on March 17th, 1996, it has since grown to a 4-5 day celebration.

Cannes film festival

Cannes film festival is an international film festival which takes place at Cannes, which is a small village in France. It is a surprising fact that one of the greatest film festivals in the world takes place in a small village, and not in some of the most developed cities in the world. The festival is a complete by-invitation-only event, which means that people who are cordially invited to the event are only allowed to enter. Every year, famous artists, journalists, directors, etc. from music, film and television industry gather to take part in this amazing festival. Sadly, entry for the general public is a strict no in this event. However, you can watch this event live on your television sets. Every year, the festival honours the best film with its famous Palm d’Or, which is often regarded as a more prestigious recognition than the Oscars. Owing to its elegance, it is one of the best festivals in Europe.

La Tomatina Festival

La Tomatina is one of the most famous festivals in Europe. Held in the beautiful city of Bunol, Spain, this festival is all about tomatoes. Yes, you read that right. The streets are flooded with tons of over-ripe tomatoes, which people throw at each other repeatedly. People from various countries across the world participate in this super messy, yet fun festival. The interesting part is that every year, millions of people try to be a part of this festival, but only 20,000 of them are able to get the tickets.

Carnaval

The Carnaval festival is celebrated in the southern region of the Netherlands and is considered the most popular festivals in Europe. The theme of this festival is role reversal, and the celebration is marked by a colourful parade, followed by traditional dance and music and lots of delicious European delicacies. Anybody visiting Netherlands around March is suggested to try being a part of this festival as it won’t fail to amaze the tourists.

San Fermin

One of the most traditional European festivals, San Fermin is celebrated in the city of Pamplona, Spain. Just like La Tomatina, this festival also has a touch of the colour red in its celebration. Still wondering how? Well, the colour red surely excites the bulls, which is why people wear something red or tie a red scarf on their arms while the bulls are chasing them. A live broadcast of this event is shown on the television and the people who are unable to go there can catch up on it via TV. The opening and closing ceremonies of this festival also take place with a full blast, which is why lots of people gather just before the beginning of the festival to play drums, pots, and pans. Almost a million people take part in this festival every year and if you are planning to visit Spain somewhere in the month of July, you can be one of them too.

 

Klapa Music Festival

The Klapa music festival is one of the most traditional music festivals in Europe and takes place every summer. The event takes place at a place with a view of the grand canyon and the Cetina river flowing across its side. The festival brings out the best singers of the town who contribute towards this wonderful music festival by their melodious voices and instrumental music. This festival is highly popular among the Europeans and if you are a music lover, you cannot afford to miss this one.

Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival

 The Kettlewell Scarecrow festival was first celebrated almost 20 years ago. The theme of this festival is quite an interesting one and comes with a cause. The money which is raised through this festival is used for education, village hall and the maintenance of the Church of the local village. In Yorkshire Dale village, many straw-stuffed scarecrows are put up across the town to mark the celebration of this festival. Another fun fact of this festival is that it is counted in one of the weirdest festivals in Europe. 

 

Author Bio – Abhyank Srinet holds a Masters in Management degree from ESCP  Europe & has an engineering degree with a specialization in Instrumentation & Control. His interest in the digital landscape motivated him to create an online startup for Masters in Management application consulting (MiM-Essay.com), focused on spreading quality information about the MiM degree & performing application consulting services for clients. He is the chief consultant of the company and takes care of the Business Development and Digital Marketing side of the company. He is very passionate about writing and marketing.