Wednesday, 11 June 2014

Summer Carnival: Europe’s Got Samba Fever

SUN SUMMER SAMBA

As temperatures rise and the streets turn into stages, the cityscape becomes a sea of summery color. And when hot samba beats and dancers come together in spectacular parades, only one thing can be happening: summer carnival! Here we give you a glimpse into the highlights of the 2014 summer carnival season.

Rotterdam Unlimited

After the two popular festivals, Zomercarneval and Dunya Festival, merged to become Rotterdam Unlimited, the mega block party returns this year for three days chock full of music, dance, carnivalesque performances and theater. The Dutch city of Rotterdam will be under summer carnival’s sway from July 18 – 20. With blaring music, rhythmic dancing and a huge entertainment line-up, the Rotterdam bash has evolved into one of the largest festivals in Holland with approx. one million visitors.

Awaiting visitors on Saturday, July 19th is a spectacular performance with more than 2,300 participants singing and dancing to tropical beats and hot hot rhythms: a spin-off of carnival in Rio, Rotterdam Unlimited delivers a flair that lives up to the original.

Notting Hill Carnival

On August 24^th and 25^th the Queen is bound to be tickled by the bold colors she’ll be seeing all around West London. Every year residents, natives and tourists come together for the Notting Hill Carnival, one of the largest street parties in Europe. Alongside delicious street food and Caribbean joie de vivre with steel band music and calypso sounds, traditional customs find expression. Throwing colorful powder and flour at each other on the first day of the parade is a ritual that originates in the Caribbean islands – the end of slavery was celebrated in the same way.

Anyone can join the fun at the Notting Hill Carnival, and more than one million spectators do, lining the neighborhood streets to watch the parade. Kids can get geared up for the kids parade on Sunday, August 25th. The main parade is set to dazzle on the following day.

Samba Festival in Coburg, Germany

From July 11 – 13 the 23^rd International Samba Festival will take place in Coburg, Germany. The largest samba festival outside of Brazil attracts around 200,000 visitors and turns Coburg into a veritable Franconian Rio. The highlight of the extensive program will definitely be the street parade, where 100 groups will heat up the crowds with hot rhythms, pounding drums and juicy dancing.

International Summer Carnival in Senj

Samba on the Adriatic Sea: for six days and nights carnival fever takes over the Adriatic coast of Croatia. The International Summer Carnival in Senj has been attracting around 25,000 visitors every year since 1967.

Your Samba Costume

If you’ve got summer carnival fever and ecstatic rhythms get your blood flowing, it’s probably not a bad idea to put those vibes a costume! Here you’ll find a grab bag of colorful costumes and summery accessories: