Music festivals
The world's best Music festivals — where and when to go.
Fes Sacred Music
Sacred and spiritual music from every faith and continent.
Harbin Ice & Snow
A whole city of illuminated ice palaces in deep winter.
Roskilde
Northern Europe's largest music festival, non-profit and gloriously muddy.
Timkat
Ethiopian Orthodox Epiphany, a dazzling water celebration.
Tomorrowland
The world's most spectacular electronic-music festival.
Quรฉbec Winter Carnival
The world's largest winter carnival, led by Bonhomme.
Pushkar Camel Fair
50,000 camels, traders and pilgrims in the desert.
Chinese New Year
Lion dances, lanterns and fireworks welcome the lunar year.
Napoli Pizza Village
The home of pizza throws a giant seaside celebration of it.
Up Helly Aa
Vikings, torches and a burning longship in the depths of winter.
Monkey Buffet
A lavish feast laid out for thousands of temple monkeys.
Nyepi
Bali's Day of Silence โ the whole island stops.
Fuji Rock
Japan's biggest festival, set in stunning mountain forest.
Oktoberfest
The world's largest folk festival โ six million people and oceans of beer.
Balloon Fiesta
Hundreds of hot-air balloons fill the dawn sky over New Mexico.
Sziget
A week-long 'Island of Freedom' on the Danube.
Mardi Gras
Beads, brass bands and float parades before Lent.
Holi
The festival of colours โ pigment thrown in joy at the arrival of spring.
St Patrick's Day
A city (and a planet) turns green for a day.
La Tomatina
One hour. 150,000 tomatoes. The world's largest food fight.
Vivid Sydney
The harbour and Opera House transformed by light and projection.
Burning Man
A temporary city of radical art that vanishes without a trace.
Wife Carrying
Race an obstacle course carrying a partner. Prize: her weight in beer.
Songkran
Thai New Year, celebrated as a nationwide, days-long water fight.
Lollapalooza
Four days of headliners in Grant Park.
Battle of the Oranges
The whole town divides into teams and pelts each other with oranges.
Notting Hill Carnival
Europe's biggest street festival, a Caribbean explosion.
Montreux Jazz
Legendary lakeside jazz (and far beyond) since 1967.
Coachella
Desert music-and-arts festival where line-ups and fashion compete for headlines.
Edinburgh Fringe
The world's largest arts festival โ thousands of shows across a whole city.
Cheese Rolling
Chase a 4kg wheel of cheese down a near-vertical hill. Injuries expected.
San Fermรญn
The running of the bulls through the old town at dawn.
Cape Town Jazz
Africa's grandest gathering of jazz.
Dรญa de los Muertos
Marigolds, sugar skulls and joyful parades honouring the departed.
Galway Oyster
The world's oldest oyster festival, shucking since 1954.
Inti Raymi
The Inca festival of the sun, re-enacted at Sacsayhuamรกn.
Gion Matsuri
Kyoto's grand month-long festival of towering floats.
Glastonbury
Five days of music and mud on Worthy Farm โ the home of the British festival.
Primavera Sound
Cult indie and electronic line-ups by the Mediterranean.
Rio Carnival
Samba schools, sequins and the biggest street party on earth.
Yi Peng
Thousands of glowing sky lanterns released into the night.
Naadam
The 'three manly games': wrestling, horse racing and archery.
Cannes Film Festival
The most glamorous week in world cinema.
Gnaoua
Hypnotic Gnaoua trance music on the Atlantic coast.
Diwali
The festival of lights โ millions of lamps, fireworks and family.
Sapporo Snow
Colossal, breathtaking snow and ice sculptures.
El Colacho
Costumed 'devils' leap over rows of babies. Yes, really.
Boryeong Mud
Two weeks of gloriously messy mud pools and wrestling by the sea.
Venice Carnival
Elaborate masks and Baroque costume along the canals.
Pingxi Lantern
Sky lanterns carrying wishes over the mountains.
Dreamfields Festival
Dreamfields Festival is a festival held in Kingdom of the Netherlands.
G! Festival
G! Festival is a festival held in Denmark.
White Ravens
White Ravens is a festival held in Germany.
Burg-Herzberg-Festival
Burg-Herzberg-Festival is a festival held in Germany.
Afan festival
Afan festival is a festival held in Nigeria.