Colour has a powerful and stimulating effect on the human brain, with the power to inspire emotion and even cause psychological and physiological changes. Most would agree that a splash of color certainly makes for a more interesting vista, but there are some festivals that create technicolour dreamscapes and truely boggle the mind. Come take a look at some of the most breathtaking and colourful places on earth.
Music, dance, vibrancy and color are some of the hallmarks of the greatest festivals in the world. When it comes to bold and bright, these festivals have their bases covered:
Mardi Gras
Sydney, Australia
Being that the symbol of gay pride is the rainbow, it stands to reason that one of the most preeminent celebrations of gay culture is an incredibly colourful affair. Hundreds of thousands of people converge on Sydney’s Oxford Street to watch and participate in the annual parade celebrating gay and lesbian culture on the first weekend of March each year. Celebrated since 1978, the city explodes into a cacophony of colours, with lavish costumes, style, glitter and glamour being the flavor of the day.
Though the parade officially starts at 7:45, it is important to stake a place early before the rest of the crowd make their way down. At the culmination of the festival the after-party begins, and revellers dance the night away to performances by international artists like George Michael, Kylie Minogue and Boy George.
Chinese New Year
Hong Kong, China
As most of the Western world are shaking off the cobwebs of their festive season, people that celebrate Chinese New Year are still planning for the upcoming festivities. Lasting 15 days, a large proportion of the country effectively shuts down as huge numbers of people travel across the country to spend time with their loved ones.
Renowned as one of the world’s largest and liveliest events, the evening parade through Tsim Sha Tsui East in Hong Kong features a cast of thousands parading on traditional floats and in larger than life dragon and lion costumes. Traditionally, fireworks are seen as a means to scare away bad spirits and promote luck, so the fireworks display on the second day of celebrations is one of the most spectacular in the world, lighting up the night sky against the backdrop of flickering lights that decorate the towering skyscrapers.
Cherry Blossom Festival
Tokyo, Japan
The Cherry Blossom is Japan’s national flower and symbolizes the ending of winter and the arrival of spring. As the cold weather subsides the cherry blossom trees explode into full bloom with pink flowers bathing the metropolis in soft petals.
The festival dates back more than a thousand years but it is now enjoyed by visitors and locals alike with fine food and drink during the festivities. Tokyo Ueno Park is one of the best places to see the cherry blossoms in all their glory, with more than 1,200 cherry trees simultaneously in full bloom.
Carnival
Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Probably the most famous of all the festivals in this list, Carnival is a colourful, hedonistic affair held over five days of non-stop revelry. Whilst celebrated across the entire country, the largest, most colourful and most renown of all the carnivals is found in Rio De Janeiro.
The residents of Rio take to the streets from the Friday until the Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, when elaborate floats make their way down the street flanked by thousands of pounding drummers and exotic dancers. Beyond the parade itself, the city explodes into a non-stop party with free live concerts and various balls held across town. Authorities estimated that in 2012, 5.3 million people took part in one of the 425 street parties.
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
New Mexico, U.S.A.
In October each year, Albuquerque plays host to one of the largest gatherings of hot air balloons in the world. From morning till dusk, the sky fills with hundreds of brilliantly coloured hot air balloons coasting across the desert sky. Cool nights and moderate temperatures during the day make for the perfect environment to witness this amazing spectacle.
More than 500 balloons launch into the air in less than 2 hours, and visitors can catch the view from the ground or suspended above the ground in the basket of one of these graceful flying machines.
Burning Man Festival
Nevada, U.S.A.
Brilliant lasers cut through the night sky as a swarthy man breathes fire to the beat of a drum. In the distance a ship slowly drives across a desert plane, neon clad revellers dancing on the deck as the sun slips over the horizon. If this sounds like some sort of surreal dream you’re not too far from the reality of the situation. The annual Burning Man festival, held in the wide desert expanses of Nevada is one of the closest things you’ll find to another planet here on earth.
Up to 60,000 people from across the globe make the pilgrimage to this festival adorned in some of the most creative and brilliant costumes imaginable to create a spectacular experience, defined entirely by the participants that attend. Surely the hottest, dustiest and wildest festival on earth, Buring Man is a celebration of creativity, self expression, sustainability and colour, and an unforgettable experience for any that attend.
Festival Of San Fermin
Pamplona, Spain
For nine days, Pamplona is adorned in a sea of red and white as locals and visitors alike celebrate the Festival of San Fermin. Kicking off in Chupinazo in Pampolona town square, the fiesta begins with a carnival and fireworks, and culminates in the famous ‘Encierro’, otherwise known as the running of the bulls. The fiesta dates back to the 16th century and was popularized in Ernest Hemingway’s novel “The Sun Alosi Rises” in 1926. Red is certainly the color of the day with revellers sporting traditional red scarves and flags and imbibing industrial quantities of red wine.
A polarizing event, the festival has long drawn the ire of animal rights activists, arguing that the bulls are tortured for entertainment. But it’s not to say the bulls don’t get a few licks in themselves. The bull run itself is fraught with danger and every competitor takes their lives in their hands as they dash through the cobblestoned streets of Pamplona in a 5 minute race that surely feels like 5 hours. Since records began in 1911, 15 people have been killed during the festival and just this year a number of people were hospitalized as they were gored or trampled by bulls.
Holi Festival
Northern India
India has always been exalted and remembered fondly as a country that embraces color. From the deep orange marigold flowers that accent many celebrations, to the brilliant reds that symbolize royalty, color in India has a close relationship with religious beliefs. One of the most spectacular displays of this is the Holi Festival, also known as the Festival of Colours.
Clouds of neon powder envelope entire villages across northern India during the festival as Hindu devotees celebrate the god Krishna by expelling negativity by showering each other with bright, vivid powders. The triumph of good over evil is symbolized by the lighting of bonfires during the evening of the full moon before people take to the streets the next day to begin the central Holi ritual, the throwing of coloured powders and water. This spectacular festival is celebrated by Hindus across the world, so if you can’t make it to India to experience it first hand, be sure to see if there is a Holi festival closer to home.
