The much anticipated Cape Town Carnival is taking place this weekend – it’s a proudly South African event with participants from more than 23 local communities within the Cape Town area, including people from every walk of life. We look forward to the celebrations!

Here are the top 5 carnivals taking place in the rest of the world.

Rio, Brazil: Wild and massive street celebrations occur all over Brazil, but it’s Rio Carnival that steals the spotlight as the world’s most famous. Professional samba schools in Brazil put on their own shows as part of the celebration and visitors are welcome to join in.

Malta & Gozo: The small island of Gozo – to the northwest of Malta (coincidentally the home country of Cape Grace’s General Manager, Nigel Pace) – is famous for its Carnival, in the capital city of Victoria. Gozitans take pride in their unique celebration, with some masqueraders so serious about remaining unrecognized that over and above wearing wigs and outrageous makeup, they even go as far as remaining totally silent to conceal their voices.

Notting Hill Carnival, West London: Starting life as a local festival for the West African community, Notting Hill Carnival has become a full-blooded Caribbean-style carnival attracting millions of visitors from all over the globe. It’s the party of the year in London, with astonishing floats, the sounds of traditional steel drums and scores of massive sound systems each pumping out their own music preference, plus hundreds of stalls lining the streets.

Rijeka, Croatia: Croatia is another Mediterranean country with a flair for celebrations, with an all-out annual festival in the coastal city of Rijeka. Croatia’s special traditions and customs create a unique Carnival procession with the most iconic revellers being bell ringers dressed in lambs-wool costumes and huge animal masks. They band together going from village to village ringing bells they wear around their waists. Each region has their own costume and musical walk, but all of them play the same role – to ward off evil spirits.
Madeira, Portugal: The Portuguese island of Madeira has long been a destination for fun lovers and pleasure seekers and the capital city, Funchal, knows how to host a party. Its annual New Year’s Eve fireworks display reaches Guinness World Record proportions and its celebration of Carnival has gained notoriety as one of Europe’s most raging street festivals.

Be sure to head to Long Street tomorrow to check out the Cape Town Carnival.