Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival

One of the great attractions for visiting the city during the winter season is the Carnival, a popular and massive celebration with a tradition spanning nearly five centuries, declared a Festival of International Tourist Interest.

For just over three weeks, the island’s capital is immersed in a spectacle of joy and colour built around an allegory that changes every year—the theme that inspires costumes, floats and the large main stage where the key events take place, such as the murga, comparsa and body painting competitions, as well as the Queen and Drag Queen Galas. Both galas are major shows that attract thousands of spectators and are broadcast live on national and international television.

Fun and spontaneity define this festival, which fills the streets with mascaritas during the Day Carnival, in the popular mogollones—open-air night-time parties with live music—during the Grand Parade that winds through the city’s main avenues, and in the event that brings the celebrations to a close: the Burial of the Sardine.