Tenerife's highly-anticipated and famous Carnival is to take on a Caribbean theme in 2017. Buccaneer hats, feathered parrots, eyepatches and any pirate related items will all be welcome as the Canary Island pays tribute to all things Caribbean, with the main event scheduled between 19th February to 5th March. The Santa Cruz Carnival is the island's largest and most anticipated festival, attracting hundreds of thousands of people to Tenerife's capital city every year. Considered the world's second largest carnival after Rio, the street party attracts large crowds who fill the squares and streets of the city in celebration and to view the spectacularly put together parades, which are all free for visitors.
Some of the most popular events of the Santa Cruz Carnival include:
- Carnival Queen Election Gala (22nd February): Women in impressive dresses compete to be crowned as 'Carnival Queen 2017'.
- Opening Parade (24th February, evening): The starting signal for the street parties, led by the Carnival Queen and her entourage, and followed by costumed performers, dance troops and musical groups.
- “Ritmo y Armonía” Comparsas Competition (25th February): The “comparsas” are the dancing groups of the carnival. Nowadays, there are many of them with their own unique style of choreography. They play a key role in the different events.
- Family-friendly Day Carnival (26th February and 4th March): A popular event for children and families, featuring plenty of activities to keep all entertained.
- El Coso (28th February): The carnival's grand parade and the most popular day for visitors, who can see the floats and shows of the Opening Parade in daylight.
- The Burial of the Sardine (1st March): A humorous and grotesque procession of mourners saying goodbye to the 2017 celebrations.
- Fireworks Display (5th March): A colourful pyrotechnic show and the full stop of the carnival events.
Visitors staying in popular southern resorts including Los Cristianos and Playa de las Américas can also join the celebrations of the Santa Cruz Carnival, declared a Tourist Festival of International Interest in 1980. Additional public buses will be operating, day and night, to take party goers from the south to Santa Cruz for the carnival's main events. Furthermore, those who want to take part in the Opening Parade and El Coso can do so by booking a place in the specially-decorated tourist buses which will be parading alongside the rest of the floats.
Together with Santa Cruz, most of Tenerife's towns will be also celebrating their own carnivals with lively street parades and parties, including Puerto de la Cruz, Los Cristianos and Los Gigantes.
For more information about the Tenerife Carnival, please visit www.webtenerife.co.uk and www.carnavaldetenerife.com
