4. Creole Celebrations in Cape Verde, Africa. Lavish parades and a vibrant tradition of music are the hallmarks of African Mardi Gras celebrations. Carnival is observed primarily in along the cape, where the islands each have their customs. The largest, Mindelo, is home to the biggest parade on the African continent. Mardi Gras in St. Louis, Missouri. Second largest Mardi Gras festivities in the U.S. are held in St. Louis, Missouri — Photo courtesy of Explore St. Louis. What began in 1979 as a way for five bored guys to kick the winter doldrums has now become one of the largest Mardi Gras celebrations in the United States. The Brazilian edition of Mardi Gras is the world’s largest carnival. A whopping two million people pour into the streets of Rio de Janeiro each year for a major blowout. It comes complete with feathered showgirls, thumping sound systems and sensational samba choreography. Rio de Janeiro Carnival, the world's largest Carnival celebration, dates back to 1840, with a parade through the Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí. The parade includes more than 200 samba marching groups that perform African-Brazilian dance and drumming while dressed in feathery costumes, followed by intricate floats. 3. Mardi Gras – USA. While the carnival season lasts almost two months, Mardi Gras occurs on Fat Tuesday – from which it takes its French name. This day is full of parties, parades, live music, and anything else you can imagine, making it a vivid and colorful celebration that started back in 1699. Nice in France does not just arrange “nice” but an absolutely delightful and one of the largest Mardi Gras Parades in the world. The Nice Carnival 2025 , themed “King of the Oceans” , is set to transform the city of Nice into a vibrant celebration till March 2, 2025 . With more than two million people lining the city streets every day of the five-day long celebration, Rio’s Carnival (Carnaval in Portuguese) is considered the world’s biggest, and dates back to 1723. More than 200 samba schools take part in two days of samba parades, while at the same time you will find street festivals and parties all One of the biggest LGBTQI festivals in the world, Sydney’s Mardi Gras celebrations are renowned for their fun, welcoming ethos and flamboyant costumes. Rather than celebrating the traditional values of Mardi Gras, Sydney’s festivities are instead a way to entertain, engage and enjoy everyone’s characteristics both similar and completely Founded in 1702 as the first capital of French colonial Louisiana, Mobile is known for hosting the very first Mardi Gras celebration in the U.S. While it now puts on a more low-key party than New Orleans—with only three weeks of parades as opposed to five or six—Mobile’s French roots and the fact that the festivities were were largely shaped by enslaved West Africans mean that both The city’s Imperial Calcasieu Museum celebrates Mardi Gras year-round, with the world’s largest display of Mardi Gras costumes and other regalia. 800-456-7952, www.swlamardigras.com Lafayette, La. 4. Mardi Gras – New Orleans, USA. Mardi Gras is one of the most exciting and biggest festivals in the U.S., and it draws in visitors worldwide. Held in New Orleans, this celebration has its roots in French Catholic traditions but has since evolved into an eclectic mix of parades, music, and colorful costumes. While Soulard Mardi Gras might not be the second largest in the country, it earned a world title in 2012: the annual pet parade was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest Once these petitions have been accepted, a parade featuring the hoisting of the Mardi Gras flag follows. The city hosts a dozen events during the season, including a family winter carnival, Cajun food cook-off, the world’s largest costumed pet parade, the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Ball, and the Grand Parade. Biloxi, MS Every year, as winter fades and spring approaches, the streets of New Orleans explode with color, music, and celebration. Mardi Gras, the grandest festival in Louisiana, is famous for its parades, beads, masked revelers, and deep cultural traditions. The largest and most famous Mardi Gras celebration in the USA is in New Orleans, where Fat Tuesday is a legal holiday. NOLA has been celebrating Mardi Gras since the early 18th century and the It’s the largest pride festival in the Southern Hemisphere, with exhibitions, drag performances, the Mardi Gras Fair, and more. The Mardi Gras parade is the pinnacle of the celebrations, when tens of thousands of participants take to Oxford Road to march with hundreds of floats that represent ‘every corner of the community’. In 2023 Mobile’s is the second largest Mardi Gras celebration in the nation averaging 1 million unique visitors annually from Mardi Gras ball and parade attendance over the course of Carnival. In comparison, New Orleans averages around 1.5 million annually. Six Flags Fiesta Texas is thrilled to announce the return of its highly anticipated Mardi Gras Festival, now Texas’ largest Mardi Gras celebration, running select dates from January 18 through March 16. This year’s event promises to be the most spectacular yet with the largest Mardi Gras Parade in p Mardi Gras is more commonly referred to as Carnival, and Rio de Janeiro’s is one of the largest in the world. This “greatest show on Earth” kicks off on Feb. 17, 2023, when the mayor crowns the festival’s King Momo. New Orleans Mardi Gras is one of the biggest and most popular celebrations in the world. Every year, people from all over come to the city to enjoy the festivities. While the exact number of people who attend Mardi Gras each year is unknown, it is estimated that over 1 million people take part in the celebrations.
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