What's on
Festivals, races, and cultural moments worth planning a trip around, by month. Dates read confirmed where the organizer has published them, and expected where we've projected the recurrence. Always verify before booking.
321 events upcoming.
September 2026
Venice Film Festival
Venice · Italy
Film Festivals
Festival runs approximately 10 days, late August to early September.
Dates & details →Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto · Canada
Film Festivals
Festival runs 10 days in early September.
Dates & details →New York Fashion Week
New York City · United States
Fashion Weeks
Two seasons: early February and early September.
Dates & details →Reeperbahn Festival
Hamburg · Germany
Music & Culture Festivals
The festival runs Wednesday to Saturday in mid-September, with wristbands covering venue access on a capacity basis, arrive early for buzzed-about shows.
Dates & details →London Fashion Week
London · United Kingdom
Fashion Weeks
Two seasons: womenswear in mid-February, and again in mid-September/early October.
Dates & details →Goroka Show
Goroka · Papua New Guinea
Witness / Attend
Held over a weekend in mid-September each year, timed to the Independence Day weekend around 16 September, at the National Sports Institute grounds in Goroka.
Dates & details →Manaki Brothers International Cinematographers' Film Festival
Bitola · North Macedonia
Film Festivals
Annual in the second half of September
Dates & details →Oktoberfest
Munich · Germany
Music & Culture Festivals
16-17 days from mid-September to the first Sunday in October.
Dates & details →Thimphu Tshechu
Thimphu · Bhutan
Witness / Attend
Held over three days each autumn in the courtyard of Tashichho Dzong, on and around the 10th to 12th days of the 8th Bhutanese lunar month (September or early October). Dates shift each year with the lunar calendar. Upcoming: 21 to 23 September 2026; the 2027 dates fall in late September or early October and are confirmed by the Department of Tourism nearer the time.
Dates & details →Milan Fashion Week
Milan · Italy
Fashion Weeks
Womenswear: late February/early March and mid-September.
Dates & details →Andong Maskdance Festival
Andong · South Korea
Witness / Attend
Held annually across late September and early October
Dates & details →The Roof of Africa
Maseru · Lesotho
Motorcycle Adventure Touring
Held annually over three days in late September in the Maloti Mountains near Maseru, as a round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. Exact dates shift a few days each year with the FIM calendar. 2026 runs 24 to 26 September; 2027 is expected in late September.
Dates & details →Limassol Wine Festival
Limassol · Cyprus
Music & Culture Festivals
Held each autumn in the Limassol Municipal Gardens, organized by the Municipality of Limassol, which first staged it in 1961 and has run it continuously since 1978. It spans roughly nine evenings from late September into early October, with free wine tastings from Cypriot producers alongside folk dance, theater and traditional food. Upcoming: the 65th festival is expected 26 September to 4 October 2026; exact dates are confirmed by the municipality nearer the time.
Dates & details →Paris Fashion Week
Paris · France
Fashion Weeks
Two Ready-to-Wear seasons: late February/early March and late September/early October.
Dates & details →October 2026
MassKara Festival
Bacolod · Philippines
Witness / Attend
Runs the first three weeks of October, with highlights concentrated on the third Sunday and its surrounding weekend
Dates & details →Investiture of the Captains Regent
City of San Marino · San Marino
Witness / Attend
A state ceremony held on fixed dates twice a year, on 1 April and 1 October. Upcoming: 1 October 2026 (confirmed); 1 April 2027 and 1 October 2027 (confirmed by the fixed calendar).
Dates & details →Lake of Stars
Nkhotakota · Malawi
Music & Culture Festivals
Three days on the Lake Malawi shore, usually late September or early October. Upcoming: October 2 to 4, 2026, at Nkhotakota.
Dates & details →Macao International Music Festival
Macau Peninsula · Macau
Music & Culture Festivals
Held each October into early November, the city's Music October, across venues on the Macau peninsula. Upcoming: October 2026 (expected); October 2027 (expected). Exact concert dates published by the Cultural Affairs Bureau each summer.
Dates & details →Festival Internacional Cervantino
Guanajuato · Mexico
Music & Culture Festivals
Two-plus weeks each October
Dates & details →Golden Eagle Festival
Bayan-Olgii · Mongolia
Witness / Attend
The main Golden Eagle Festival runs on the first weekend of October outside Olgii, Bayan-Olgii, with a smaller Sagsai festival in September. Upcoming: 3-4 October 2026; first weekend of October 2027.
Dates & details →Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Albuquerque · United States
Witness / Attend
Held annually across the first nine days of October
Dates & details →Baku Jazz Festival
Baku · Azerbaijan
Music & Culture Festivals
Annual in early October
Dates & details →National Wine Day (Ziua Nationala a Vinului)
Chisinau · Moldova
Music & Culture Festivals
The first weekend of October each year, in Chisinau's Great National Assembly Square. The 2026 edition, the 25th, runs 3 to 4 October; the 2027 edition is expected on 2 to 3 October.
Dates & details →Busan International Film Festival
Busan · South Korea
Film Festivals
Annual, roughly ten days in early-to-mid October.
Dates & details →Film Fest Gent
Ghent · Belgium
Film Festivals
Held each October in Ghent over about eleven days, organized by the Film Fest Gent non-profit, and incorporating the World Soundtrack Awards. Upcoming: 7 to 18 October 2026 (53rd edition, World Soundtrack Awards on 10 October); a 2027 edition is expected in October.
Dates & details →Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix
Marina Bay · Singapore
Witness / Attend
Held annually on the Marina Bay Street Circuit in downtown Singapore as Formula 1's original night race, organized by Singapore GP Pte Ltd, historically in September and scheduled for October in 2026, with the main grand prix under lights on the Sunday evening. Upcoming: 9 to 11 October 2026 (adding Singapore's first F1 Sprint on the Saturday); 2027 dates confirmed by the promoter and Formula 1 nearer the time.
Dates & details →King Edward VII Gold Cup
Hamilton · Bermuda
Sailing
Held every year in October on Hamilton Harbour, in the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club's one-design keelboats. The exact dates are set annually by the World Match Racing Tour calendar; confirm with the club.
Dates & details →Felabration
Lagos · Nigeria
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over about a week each October at the New Afrika Shrine in Lagos, timed around Fela Kuti's 15 October birthday. Dates are confirmed by the organizers nearer the time; the 2026 edition is expected in mid-October.
Dates & details →Lalon Smaran Utsav
Kushtia · Bangladesh
Music at the Source
Bauls and devotees gather at Lalon's shrine in Cheuria, Kushtia, twice a year: for about three days around Dol Purnima (the Falgun full moon, roughly February to March) and for three days from 1 Kartik (around 16 October), the anniversary of Lalon Shah's death. The Dol Purnima dates shift with the lunar calendar each year; the autumn festival falls near mid-October.
Dates & details →Durga Puja in Kolkata
Kolkata · India
Witness / Attend
Durga Puja follows the lunar calendar, falling in late September or October.
Dates & details →Rolex Middle Sea Race
Valletta · Malta
Sailing
Starts from Grand Harbour, Valletta on a Saturday in mid-to-late October each year. Upcoming: the 47th edition starts on 17 October 2026; a 2027 edition is expected in mid-to-late October.
Dates & details →Sierra Leone Marathon
Makeni · Sierra Leone
Running / Endurance
Held once a year in Makeni, organized by the charity Street Child, with full and half marathon, 10k, 5k and a 75k cycle challenge. The 2026 edition runs 21 to 26 October 2026 (race day within that window); earlier editions ran in May. The 2027 edition is expected in a similar autumn window. It repeats every year.
Dates & details →Baku International Film Festival
Baku · Azerbaijan
Film Festivals
Annual in late October
Dates & details →Abu Simbel Sun Festival
Abu Simbel · Egypt
Witness / Attend
Fixed dates set by the sun: February 22 and October 22 every year.
Dates & details →World Creole Music Festival
Roseau · Dominica
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over three nights on the last weekend of October at Windsor Park Sports Stadium in Roseau, staged by the Discover Dominica Authority as the centerpiece of the island's Independence and Creole season, and running since 1997. Bouyon, cadence-lypso, zouk, soca, reggae, dancehall and afrobeat from across the Creole world. Upcoming: the 26th edition is confirmed for 23 to 25 October 2026.
Dates & details →Abissa
Grand-Bassam · Cote d'Ivoire
Witness / Attend
Held each year over about a week from the last Sunday of October to the first Sunday of November in the historic quarter of Grand-Bassam. A traditional N'zima community festival with no single organizer; dates follow the fixed rule rather than an annual announcement.
Dates & details →Tokyo International Film Festival
Tokyo · Japan
Film Festivals
The festival runs for about ten days in late October or early November each year
Dates & details →Hawaiki Nui Va'a
Bora Bora · French Polynesia
Witness / Attend
Held over three consecutive days in late October or early November each year, run by the Comite Organisateur Hawaiki Nui Va'a for the Federation Tahitienne de Va'a, which owns the race. Six-person outrigger crews paddle an 80-mile open-ocean course from Huahine to Raiatea, on to Tahaa, and finishing in the Bora Bora lagoon on the final day. Upcoming: 33rd edition, 29 to 31 October 2026 (Bora Bora finish 31 October); 2027 dates fall in late October or early November and are confirmed by the organizer nearer the time.
Dates & details →Divali Nagar
Chaguanas · Trinidad and Tobago
Witness / Attend
Divali follows the Hindu lunar calendar, falling on the new moon of Kartik between mid-October and mid-November, and the National Council of Indian Culture stages the Divali Nagar for the nine nights leading up to it in Chaguanas. The 2025 edition ran 11 to 19 October; Divali 2026 falls on 8 November, so the 2026 Nagar is expected in the days before it.
Dates & details →Day of the Dead in Oaxaca
Oaxaca · Mexico
Witness / Attend
Core dates fixed: October 31 through November 2.
Dates & details →November 2026
Festival de Barriletes Gigantes de Sumpango
Sumpango · Guatemala
Witness / Attend
Every year on 1 November, the Day of the Dead, on the field beside the Sumpango cemetery, with a community kite-flying day on 2 November. Founded in 1978; the 47th edition was held on 1 November 2025, and the next is expected on 1 November 2026.
Dates & details →Rann Utsav
Rann of Kutch · India
Witness / Attend
The season runs roughly November through February (recent editions opened in late October or November and ran into early March), with the tent city operating throughout.
Dates & details →Iceland Airwaves
Reykjavik · Iceland
Music & Culture Festivals
Annually across roughly three days in early November.
Dates & details →Thessaloniki International Film Festival
Thessaloniki · Greece
Film Festivals
Annual in the first half of November
Dates & details →Mar del Plata International Film Festival
Mar del Plata · Argentina
Film Festivals
Every November
Dates & details →Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
Tallinn · Estonia
Film Festivals
Held over about sixteen days each November in Tallinn. Upcoming: 6 to 22 November 2026 (the 30th edition); a 2027 edition is expected in mid-to-late November.
Dates & details →Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival
Taipei · Taiwan
Film Festivals
Held each year in November in Taipei, with the Golden Horse Awards ceremony near the end of the month. The 2026 edition runs 6 to 22 November; the 2027 dates are expected in November again.
Dates & details →EnergaCAMERIMAGE
Torun · Poland
Film Festivals
Held once a year in November in Torun, an eight-day international festival of the art of cinematography organized by the Tumult Foundation. The 34th edition is confirmed for 7 to 14 November 2026.
Dates & details →Abierto Argentino de Polo
Buenos Aires · Argentina
Witness / Attend
The Open runs from early November to the final in the first days of December, every year
Dates & details →Ljubljana International Film Festival
Ljubljana · Slovenia
Film Festivals
Annual in the second half of November
Dates & details →Cork International Film Festival
Cork · Ireland
Film Festivals
Held annually over eleven days in November across cinemas and venues in Cork city. Founded in 1956, it is Ireland's oldest and largest film festival; the 71st edition runs 12 to 22 November 2026.
Dates & details →Pushkar Camel Fair
Pushkar · India
Witness / Attend
The fair follows the lunar calendar, culminating on Kartik Purnima, the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik.
Dates & details →Garifuna Settlement Day
Dangriga · Belize
Witness / Attend
A fixed national public holiday on 19 November every year, centerd on Dangriga. Upcoming: 19 November 2026 (confirmed); 19 November 2027 (fixed by statute).
Dates & details →Macau Grand Prix
Guia Circuit · Macau
Witness / Attend
Run over one long weekend in mid to late November each year on the Guia street circuit. Upcoming: 19 to 22 November 2026 (73rd edition, provisional); mid to late November 2027 (expected).
Dates & details →Nyege Nyege Festival
Jinja · Uganda
Music & Culture Festivals
Four days once a year on the Nile near Jinja, historically in September and moved to November for 2026. Upcoming: November 19 to 22, 2026.
Dates & details →Bon Om Touk
Phnom Penh · Cambodia
Witness / Attend
Three days around the full moon of the Khmer month of Kadeuk in November, so the dates shift yearly with the lunar calendar. Upcoming: 23 to 25 November 2026 (confirmed); around 13 to 15 November 2027 (expected, projected from the November 2027 full moon).
Dates & details →Yi Peng Lantern Festival
Chiang Mai · Thailand
Witness / Attend
The festival follows the lunar calendar and falls on the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, typically mid-to-late November.
Dates & details →Dev Deepawali
Varanasi · India
Witness / Attend
Dev Deepawali falls on Kartik Purnima, the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik, in November, occasionally late October.
Dates & details →Amsterdam Light Festival
Amsterdam · Netherlands
Witness / Attend
Held annually from late November to mid-January, with commissioned light-art installations along the canals of central Amsterdam, viewable on a free walking or cycling route and by canal cruise. Organized by the Amsterdam Light Festival foundation. The 15th edition runs 26 November 2026 to 17 January 2027; the 16th is expected late November 2027 to mid-January 2028.
Dates & details →Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt
Nuremberg · Germany
Witness / Attend
The market runs from the Friday before Advent through December 24, with the Christkind's opening prologue drawing the biggest single crowd.
Dates & details →December 2026
Hornbill Festival
Kohima · India
Witness / Attend
Fixed on December 1-10 every year.
Dates & details →Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano
Havana · Cuba
Film Festivals
About ten days in early-to-mid December each year. Upcoming: the 47th edition is expected in December 2026.
Dates & details →MDLBEAST Soundstorm
Riyadh · Saudi Arabia
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over three days in early December each year at the Banban site north of Riyadh. Upcoming: 3 to 5 December 2026; early December 2027 expected.
Dates & details →Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Abu Dhabi · United Arab Emirates
Witness / Attend
The Formula 1 season finale, run over four days in late November or early December at Yas Marina Circuit. Upcoming: December 3 to 6, 2026.
Dates & details →Blue Chair Film Festival
Luang Prabang · Laos
Film Festivals
Runs for several days in early December in Luang Prabang, now on a roughly biennial cycle under the Blue Chair name (formerly the annual Luang Prabang Film Festival). Upcoming: 4 to 8 December 2026; a following edition is expected in December 2028.
Dates & details →Clockenflap
Central Harbourfront · Hong Kong
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over three days each early December on the Central Harbourfront in Hong Kong, produced by Clockenflap Festivals and running since 2008. A multi-stage outdoor music and arts festival mixing international headliners with Hong Kong and Asian acts, plus film, art and comedy. Upcoming: the 2026 edition is expected 4 to 6 December.
Dates & details →Nguon
Foumban · Cameroon
Witness / Attend
Held once every two years in early December in Foumban, over about a week. The most recent edition ran from 29 November to 8 December 2024; the next is expected in December 2026, with the exact dates set by the ritual chiefs closer to the time.
Dates & details →Seb-i Arus
Konya · Turkey
Witness / Attend
Runs December 7 to 17 annually.
Dates & details →Sugar Mas
Basseterre · Saint Kitts and Nevis
Witness / Attend
A national carnival season running from mid-December into the first days of January, set each year by the National Carnival Commission. Upcoming: Sugar Mas 55, 11 December 2026 to 2 January 2027 (confirmed); Sugar Mas 56, mid-December 2027 to early January 2028 (expected).
Dates & details →Las Parrandas de Remedios
Remedios · Cuba
Witness / Attend
Builds nightly from December 16, with the all-night climax on Christmas Eve, December 24, every year.
Dates & details →Festival International du Sahara de Douz
Douz · Tunisia
Witness / Attend
About four days at the end of December each year in the Douz festival arena. Upcoming: the 57th edition ran 25 to 28 December 2025; a 58th edition is expected in late December 2026, dates usually confirmed about a month ahead.
Dates & details →Harbin International Ice and Snow Festival
Harbin · China
Witness / Attend
Officially launches on January 5 and runs into late February, with Ice and Snow World opening from late December. Upcoming: late December 2026 into late February 2027.
Dates & details →Maskanoo
Grace Bay · Turks and Caicos
Witness / Attend
Held once a year on Boxing Day, 26 December, on Grace Bay Road in Providenciales (fronting Saltmills Plaza and Regent Village), from dusk into the night, with junkanoo bands, local food and music. Created and hosted by the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association, revived in 2009. Upcoming: 26 December 2026; the pattern repeats every 26 December.
Dates & details →Junkanoo
Nassau · Bahamas
Witness / Attend
Held twice a year in Nassau, before dawn on Boxing Day (26 December) and New Year's Day (1 January), when costumed groups parade down Bay Street to drums, cowbells and brass. The national parades are government-run through the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. Upcoming: Boxing Day 26 December 2026 and New Year's Day 1 January 2027; the pattern repeats every 26 December and 1 January.
Dates & details →Calabar Carnival
Calabar · Nigeria
Witness / Attend
A month-long festival each December in Calabar, with the flagship parades falling between about 26 and 30 December. The 2026 edition runs its main events 26 to 30 December.
Dates & details →AfroFuture
Accra · Ghana
Music & Culture Festivals
Held in Accra over two days in late December each year as the headline event of Ghana's Detty December. Upcoming: expected 28 to 29 December 2026 and again in late December 2027; dates and venue confirmed by the organizers closer to the time.
Dates & details →Owru Yari
Paramaribo · Suriname
Music & Culture Festivals
Held every year on 31 December in downtown Paramaribo, with the Pagara Estafette firecracker relay through the day and street celebrations into New Year's Eve night. Upcoming: 31 December 2026 and 31 December 2027; the pattern repeats every 31 December.
Dates & details →January 2027
Junkanoo
Nassau · Bahamas
Witness / Attend
Held twice a year in Nassau, before dawn on Boxing Day (26 December) and New Year's Day (1 January), when costumed groups parade down Bay Street to drums, cowbells and brass. The national parades are government-run through the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. Upcoming: Boxing Day 26 December 2026 and New Year's Day 1 January 2027; the pattern repeats every 26 December and 1 January.
Dates & details →Vodun Days
Ouidah · Benin
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 8 to 10 January in Ouidah, built around Benin's 10 January national holiday for traditional religions. The 2026 edition ran 8 to 10 January; the 2027 edition is expected on the same dates.
Dates & details →Accompong Maroon Festival
Accompong · Jamaica
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 6 January in Accompong, St. Elizabeth, marking the 1739 peace treaty and the Maroon leader Cudjoe. Upcoming: 6 January 2027.
Dates & details →Kalibo Ati-Atihan Festival
Kalibo · Philippines
Witness / Attend
Held annually in the second and third weeks of January, climaxing on the third Sunday
Dates & details →Vevcani Carnival
Vevcani · North Macedonia
Witness / Attend
Fixed on January 13-14 for old-calendar New Year.
Dates & details →Panama Jazz Festival
Panama City · Panama
Music & Culture Festivals
Held each January in Panama City, produced by the Fundacion Danilo Perez, which founded it in 2003. A week of ticketed evening concerts, late-night jam sessions and a large free daytime education program across the capital's venues. Upcoming: the 2027 edition runs 14 to 16 January.
Dates & details →Samana Humpback Whale Season
Samana · Dominican Republic
Witness / Attend
Annual humpback whale season in Samana Bay, roughly 15 January to the end of March each year, peaking in February. Not a fixed-date event; the whales arrive and depart on their migration.
Dates & details →Lauberhorn Races
Wengen · Switzerland
Witness / Attend
Race weekend falls in mid-January, with the downhill as the Saturday centerpiece.
Dates & details →Sinulog
Cebu City · Philippines
Witness / Attend
Held annually on the third Sunday of January.
Dates & details →Timkat
Gondar · Ethiopia
Witness / Attend
Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox Epiphany, falls on 11 Ter, which is 19 January in most years and 20 January in the year before a Gregorian leap year, with the Ketera eve procession the afternoon before. Upcoming: 19 January 2027 in Gondar; 20 January 2028.
Dates & details →Hahnenkamm Races
Kitzbuhel · Austria
Witness / Attend
Race weekend falls in mid-to-late January, with the downhill on Saturday as the centerpiece and the slalom on Sunday.
Dates & details →Thaipusam
Batu Caves · Malaysia
Witness / Attend
Held annually at Batu Caves on Thaipusam, the full moon of the Tamil month Thai (January or February). Falls on 1 February in 2026 and 22 January in 2027. A pre-dawn chariot procession runs from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Kuala Lumpur to the caves; the observance is free and organized by the temple community, with no ticketing.
Dates & details →Thaipusam
Little India · Singapore
Witness / Attend
Held on the full-moon day of the Tamil month of Thai (January or February), when Hindu devotees carry kavadi and paal kudam in a roughly three-kilometer procession from the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple in Little India to the Sri Thendayuthapani Temple on Tank Road, coordinated by the Hindu Endowments Board and the two temples. First walkers leave from about 11.30pm the night before. Upcoming: 1 February 2026; 22 January 2027.
Dates & details →Venice Carnival
Venice · Italy
Witness / Attend
Runs late January into February, ending on Shrove Tuesday.
Dates & details →Festival Internacional Jazz Plaza
Havana · Cuba
Music & Culture Festivals
About a week in late January, occasionally running into early February. Upcoming: the 42nd edition is expected in late January 2027.
Dates & details →Goteborg Film Festival
Gothenburg · Sweden
Film Festivals
Held once a year over ten days from late January into early February in Gothenburg, staged since 1979 by the Goteborg Film Festival organization. The 50th edition runs 29 January to 7 February 2027; the 2028 edition is expected in late January to early February. It repeats every year in the same winter window.
Dates & details →Masopust - Shrovetide Processions of the Hlinecko Region
Hlinsko · Czechia
Witness / Attend
Held at Shrovetide, in the weeks before Lent, so the dates move each year and are spread across the Hlinecko villages on different days from late January into February. In 2026 the rounds run on 31 January (Vesely Kopec, Hamry), 8 February (Blatno), 14 February (Vortova, Studnice) and 17 February (Hlinsko). A 2027 season is expected in late January to early February.
Dates & details →February 2027
JUK Herceg Fest
Herceg Novi · Montenegro
Witness / Attend
Annual through most of February.
Dates & details →Copenhagen Fashion Week
Copenhagen · Denmark
Fashion Weeks
Two seasons: August (summer womenswear) and late January/early February (winter).
Dates & details →Tapati Rapa Nui
Easter Island · Chile
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually across the first two weeks of February
Dates & details →Kurentovanje
Ptuj · Slovenia
Witness / Attend
Annual around Shrovetide.
Dates & details →Busojaras
Mohacs · Hungary
Witness / Attend
Six days ending on Shrove Tuesday (the day before Ash Wednesday), so the dates shift yearly. Upcoming: 12 to 17 February 2026 (confirmed); around 4 to 9 February 2027 (expected, projected from the movable date).
Dates & details →Koelner Karneval
Cologne · Germany
Witness / Attend
The street carnival runs from Weiberfastnacht (the Thursday before Lent) through Ash Wednesday, with Rosenmontag as the climax
Dates & details →Jokkmokk Winter Market
Jokkmokk · Sweden
Witness / Attend
Held once a year on the first Thursday to Saturday of February in Jokkmokk, on the Arctic Circle, arranged by Jokkmokk Municipality in a four-hundred-year tradition. The 2027 edition, the 422nd market, runs 4 to 6 February; the 2028 edition is expected in early February. It repeats every year on the first Thursday to Saturday of February.
Dates & details →Rio Carnival
Rio de Janeiro · Brazil
Witness / Attend
Carnival dates move with the lunar calendar, landing in February or early March.
Dates & details →Carnaval de Oruro
Oruro · Bolivia
Witness / Attend
A movable feast in February, occasionally early March.
Dates & details →Carnaval de Luanda
Luanda · Angola
Music & Culture Festivals
Held once a year during the Carnival season, in February or March depending on the movable Carnival date, along Luanda's seafront Marginal. The 2025 parade ran from 1 to 3 March; the 2026 dates follow the Carnival calendar and are confirmed by the provincial government closer to the time.
Dates & details →Aruba Carnival
Oranjestad · Aruba
Music & Culture Festivals
Held every year as a roughly six-week season from the first weekend of January to the eve of Lent, ending with the San Nicolas Lighting Parade and the Grand Parade in Oranjestad on the final weekend before Ash Wednesday. The 2027 closing weekend is expected around 6 to 9 February.
Dates & details →Fundacion Carnaval de Barranquilla
Barranquilla · Colombia
Witness / Attend
The carnival runs the four days before Ash Wednesday, so dates move with Lent.
Dates & details →Carnaval de Las Tablas
Las Tablas · Panama
Witness / Attend
Held over the four days before Ash Wednesday each year, Saturday to Shrove Tuesday, so the dates move with Lent (usually February, sometimes early March). Two rival neighborhood tunas, Calle Arriba and Calle Abajo, compete with floats, rival queens, live music and nightly water-throwing culecos. Upcoming: 6 to 9 February 2027.
Dates & details →White Turf St. Moritz
St. Moritz · Switzerland
Witness / Attend
Snow Polo takes the last weekend of January, White Turf the first three Sundays of February, all dependent on lake ice thickness, which organizers monitor and which climate volatility has occasionally disrupted.
Dates & details →Carnival of Binche
Binche · Belgium
Witness / Attend
Held every year on the Sunday, Monday and Shrove Tuesday before Ash Wednesday in Binche, so the dates move with Easter; the masked Gilles appear mainly on the Tuesday. Upcoming: 15 to 17 February 2026 and 7 to 9 February 2027, both confirmed by the town's official carnival site.
Dates & details →Vastelaovend
Maastricht · Netherlands
Witness / Attend
Held on the three days before Ash Wednesday (Sunday to Tuesday), so the date moves with the church calendar, usually in February and sometimes early March. In Maastricht it is organized by the city carnival association Vereniging De Tempeleers and opens with the hoisting of the Mooswief over the Markt. Next editions 7 to 9 February 2027 and 27 to 29 February 2028.
Dates & details →Trinidad Carnival
Port of Spain · Trinidad and Tobago
Witness / Attend
Carnival climaxes on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, the two days before Ash Wednesday, so the dates move with the Christian calendar between early February and early March. The Panorama steelband final falls on the Saturday before, Dimanche Gras on the Sunday, and J'ouvert in the pre-dawn dark of Carnival Monday. Carnival 2027 is Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 February; 2028 is expected on 28 and 29 February.
Dates & details →Uzgavenes
Rumsiskes · Lithuania
Witness / Attend
Held on Shrove Tuesday (Uzgavenes) each year, a movable date 47 days before Easter, at the Open-Air Museum of Lithuania in Rumsiskes. Upcoming: 17 February 2026; 9 February 2027.
Dates & details →Berlinale
Berlin · Germany
Film Festivals
Festival runs 10 days in mid-February.
Dates & details →Argungu International Fishing and Cultural Festival
Argungu · Nigeria
Witness / Attend
Held annually over about four days in February or March in Argungu, culminating in the mass fishing contest on the Sokoto river. Suspended for several years over security and revived by the Kebbi State Government; the 61st edition ran 11 to 14 February 2026.
Dates & details →New York Fashion Week
New York City · United States
Fashion Weeks
Two seasons: early February and early September.
Dates & details →London Fashion Week
London · United Kingdom
Fashion Weeks
Two seasons: womenswear in mid-February, and again in mid-September/early October.
Dates & details →Yanshui Beehive Fireworks Festival
Yanshui · Taiwan
Witness / Attend
Held over the Lantern Festival, the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the first lunar month, around Yanshui Wu Temple in Tainan. Beehive frames of thousands of bottle rockets are fired into the crowd through the night to drive out misfortune. In 2027 the Lantern Festival falls around 19 to 20 February; Tainan City confirms the exact dates each year.
Dates & details →Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
Pingxi · Taiwan
Witness / Attend
Held during the Taiwan Lantern Festival, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, in the Pingxi district of New Taipei City, promoted by the New Taipei City Government since 1999. The mass sky-lantern releases run over two evenings, usually at Pingxi and at Shifen. The 2027 grand finale at Shifen is expected around 20 February; the official schedule is released each January.
Dates & details →Abu Simbel Sun Festival
Abu Simbel · Egypt
Witness / Attend
Fixed dates set by the sun: February 22 and October 22 every year.
Dates & details →Envision Festival
Uvita · Costa Rica
Music & Culture Festivals
Annual, late February to early March, seven to eight days.
Dates & details →Mashramani
Georgetown · Guyana
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 23 February, Guyana's Republic Day, with a month of costume, calypso, chutney and steel-pan competitions building to the big float-and-costume parade through Georgetown. The 2026 parade ran on 23 February; Mashramani returns on 23 February 2027.
Dates & details →Milan Fashion Week
Milan · Italy
Fashion Weeks
Womenswear: late February/early March and mid-September.
Dates & details →N'cwala
Chipata · Zambia
Witness / Attend
Held once a year on the last Saturday of February at Mutenguleni village, near Chipata in Zambia's Eastern Province, as the Ngoni first-fruits ceremony. The Ngoni paramount chief presides, tasting the first produce of the season, and warriors perform the ingoma war dance. The ceremony in its modern form was revived in 1980. Upcoming: the 2026 N'cwala was held on 28 February 2026; the 2027 ceremony is expected on 27 February 2027.
Dates & details →FESPACO
Ouagadougou · Burkina Faso
Film Festivals
Held once every two years, in the odd years, over about a week from late February into early March, across the cinemas of Ouagadougou. The 29th edition ran from 22 February to 1 March 2025; the 30th is confirmed for 27 February to 6 March 2027.
Dates & details →March 2027
Paris Fashion Week
Paris · France
Fashion Weeks
Two Ready-to-Wear seasons: late February/early March and late September/early October.
Dates & details →Las Fallas
Valencia · Spain
Witness / Attend
Runs March 1 through 19 every year.
Dates & details →Maha Shivaratri
Grand Bassin · Mauritius
Witness / Attend
Held once a year on the night of Maha Shivaratri, the thirteenth or fourteenth night of the waning moon in the Hindu month of Phalguna, which falls in February or early March. Pilgrims walk to Grand Bassin over the two to three days beforehand. Upcoming: 15 February 2026; the 2027 date shifts with the lunar calendar and falls in late February or March.
Dates & details →Nyepi
Bali · Indonesia
Witness / Attend
Nyepi follows the Saka lunar calendar, falling in March, occasionally late February.
Dates & details →CPH:DOX
Copenhagen · Denmark
Film Festivals
Around twelve days in March each year. Upcoming: the 24th edition runs 10 to 21 March 2027.
Dates & details →St Patrick's Festival
Dublin · Ireland
Witness / Attend
Held annually in Dublin over four to five days in mid-March, culminating in the National St Patrick's Day Parade on 17 March. The 2026 festival ran 14 to 17 March; the parade always falls on 17 March, with the surrounding festival dates set each year.
Dates & details →Paro Tshechu
Paro · Bhutan
Witness / Attend
Held over five days each spring at Rinpung Dzong, Paro, in the second Bhutanese lunar month (late March or April), with the giant thongdrel scroll unfurled before dawn on the final day. Dates shift each year with the lunar calendar. Upcoming: 29 March to 2 April 2026; the 2027 dates fall in spring and are confirmed by the Department of Tourism nearer the time.
Dates & details →Planica Ski Flying Finals
Planica · Slovenia
Witness / Attend
The World Cup ski-jump finals run four days, Thursday to Sunday, in the second half of March.
Dates & details →Sauti za Busara
Stone Town · Tanzania
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually over three to four days, historically in February, moving to March from 2027.
Dates & details →Junta Permanente Pro Semana Santa de Popayan
Popayan · Colombia
Witness / Attend
Held during Holy Week, the week before Easter, so dates move with the liturgical calendar.
Dates & details →Navruz
Dushanbe · Tajikistan
Witness / Attend
Navruz, the spring-equinox new year, is a fixed public holiday in Tajikistan from 21 to 24 March each year, with the main state celebration and buzkashi games in Dushanbe. The date is tied to the equinox around 21 March and barely shifts year to year. Upcoming: 21 to 24 March 2027.
Dates & details →Semana Santa en La Antigua Guatemala
Antigua · Guatemala
Witness / Attend
Holy Week, the week before Easter Sunday, so the dates move between mid-March and April each year. Processions run daily and peak on Good Friday. 2026 fell in the week ending Easter Sunday 5 April 2026; 2027 is expected in the week ending Easter Sunday 28 March 2027.
Dates & details →Holi in Vrindavan
Vrindavan · India
Witness / Attend
Holi falls on the full moon of the Hindu month of Phalguna, in late February or March.
Dates & details →Bequia Easter Regatta
Bequia · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sailing
A four-day regatta held each year over the Easter weekend, dates set off the movable feast by the Bequia Sailing Club. Upcoming: around 2 to 6 April 2026 (expected, Easter Sunday 5 April); around 25 to 29 March 2027 (expected, Easter Sunday 28 March).
Dates & details →Rupununi Rodeo
Lethem · Guyana
Witness / Attend
Held every Easter weekend at Lethem in the Rupununi savannah. The 2026 rodeo ran 3 to 5 April; the 2027 edition is expected over the Easter weekend in late March.
Dates & details →Kuomboka
Mongu · Zambia
Witness / Attend
Held on a single day at the end of the rainy season, usually a Saturday in late March or April, when the upper Zambezi has flooded the Barotse Plain enough to float the royal barge. The Barotse Royal Establishment sets and announces the date about a month ahead, and the ceremony is not held in years when the flood is too low. Upcoming: the 2026 Kuomboka was held on 28 March 2026; a 2027 ceremony is expected in late March or April, date to be announced.
Dates & details →Seu Harvest Parade
Willemstad · Curacao
Witness / Attend
Held every year on Easter Monday in Willemstad, the harvest parade winding through the Otrobanda district. Upcoming: 29 March 2027 and 17 April 2028.
Dates & details →April 2027
Investiture of the Captains Regent
City of San Marino · San Marino
Witness / Attend
A state ceremony held on fixed dates twice a year, on 1 April and 1 October. Upcoming: 1 October 2026 (confirmed); 1 April 2027 and 1 October 2027 (confirmed by the fixed calendar).
Dates & details →Windhoek Karneval
Windhoek · Namibia
Witness / Attend
About ten days in late March or early April, timed around Easter. Upcoming: April 1 to 11, 2027.
Dates & details →Naghol (Land Diving)
Pentecost Island · Vanuatu
Witness / Attend
Held on Saturdays from April to June each year, timed to the first yam harvest, in the villages of southern Pentecost Island. Men and boys jump head-first from wooden towers up to about 30 meters high with only forest vines tied to their ankles. 2026 season: Saturdays from 4 April to 27 June 2026 (per the Vanuatu Tourism Office).
Dates & details →Art Dubai
Dubai · United Arab Emirates
Witness / Attend
Annually over four days in spring, usually April, at Madinat Jumeirah. The 2026 twentieth-anniversary edition ran May 14 to 17; 2027 dates to be confirmed.
Dates & details →Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage
Dajia · Taiwan
Witness / Attend
Held once a year in spring, in the third lunar month, departing from Dajia Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung for a nine-day, eight-night procession of about 340 kilometers through Taichung, Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi and back. The exact start is fixed each year by temple divination. In 2026 it ran 17 to 26 April; the 2027 dates are set closer to the time.
Dates & details →Bahrain Grand Prix
Sakhir · Bahrain
Witness / Attend
Held once a year, in recent seasons over a weekend in early-to-mid April, as a floodlit night race at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. The February 2026 regional escalation disrupted the 2026 running; 2027 tickets are on sale for an April date but the calendar remains subject to the regional situation, so verify before planning.
Dates & details →Tourism Authority of Thailand (Maha Songkran World Water Festival)
Bangkok · Thailand
Witness / Attend
April 13-15 every year.
Dates & details →Pohela Boishakh
Dhaka · Bangladesh
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 14 April, the first day (1 Boishakh) of the Bangla calendar. Its centerpiece is the dawn Mangal Shobhajatra procession from the University of Dhaka Faculty of Fine Arts, inscribed by UNESCO in 2016; since 2025 the procession has been staged under the name Ananda Shobhajatra. Next dates: 14 April 2027, 14 April 2028.
Dates & details →National Family Island Regatta
George Town, Exuma · Bahamas
Sailing
Held each April in Elizabeth Harbour off George Town, Great Exuma, staged by the National Family Island Regatta Committee since 1954, racing traditional Bahamian Class A, B and C working sloops over about five days. Dates fall in the last full week of April and are confirmed by the committee nearer the time. The 2026 edition (the 70th) ran 21 to 25 April 2026; 2027 is expected in late April.
Dates & details →Antigua Sailing Week
English Harbour · Antigua and Barbuda
Sailing
Held annually over five days in late April, out of English and Falmouth Harbours. The 58th edition runs 21 to 25 April 2027; a further edition is expected in late April 2028.
Dates & details →The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.
New Orleans · United States
Music & Culture Festivals
Late April into early May across two weekends.
Dates & details →Kaunas Jazz
Kaunas · Lithuania
Music & Culture Festivals
The main festival runs over a long weekend in late April each year, near International Jazz Day, centerd on Kaunas with concerts extending to Vilnius and Palanga. Upcoming: 24 to 26 April 2026; late April 2027 expected.
Dates & details →Harare International Festival of the Arts
Harare · Zimbabwe
Music & Culture Festivals
A six-day multidisciplinary arts festival in Harare, historically held in late April or early May and returning in 2026 after an eight-year break. Upcoming: 3 to 9 August 2026 (the comeback edition, theme Up); further editions are planned through 2028 with dates to be announced.
Dates & details →Corfu Botides
Corfu · Greece
Witness / Attend
A movable feast tied to Orthodox Holy Week, falling in April or early May; the botides fall on Holy Saturday morning.
Dates & details →FEMUA
Abidjan · Cote d'Ivoire
Music & Culture Festivals
Held each year over about six days spanning late April and early May in Abidjan, with a partner-town leg. The 2026 edition, the eighteenth, ran 28 April to 3 May; the 2027 edition is expected in the same late-April to early-May window.
Dates & details →The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Foundation, Inc.
New Orleans · United States
Music & Culture Festivals
Late April into early May across two weekends.
Dates & details →Saint Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival
Rodney Bay · Saint Lucia
Music & Culture Festivals
Held each spring, historically late April into May, with main concerts at the Pigeon Island National Landmark near Rodney Bay. Produced by the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority with the Cultural Development Foundation and the Events Company of Saint Lucia. Upcoming: the 2027 edition runs 30 April to 9 May.
Dates & details →May 2027
Cheung Chau Bun Festival
Cheung Chau · Hong Kong
Witness / Attend
Held over several days around Buddha's Birthday (the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, usually in May) on the island of Cheung Chau, staged by the island community around the Pak Tai Temple. The Piu Sik (floating colors) parade of costumed children carried on poles and the midnight bun-scrambling race up the bamboo bun towers fall on the main day. 2026: the festival runs 21 to 25 May, with the parade and bun scramble on 24 May.
Dates & details →Festival de Cannes
Cannes · France
Film Festivals
Festival runs approximately 12 days in mid-to-late May.
Dates & details →Prague Spring International Music Festival
Prague · Czechia
Music & Culture Festivals
About three weeks from mid-May into early June each year across Prague's concert halls, opening on 12 May with Smetana's Ma vlast. Upcoming: 12 May to 4 June 2026 (81st edition); a 2027 edition is expected mid-May to early June.
Dates & details →Festival International de Jazz de Saint-Louis
Saint-Louis · Senegal
Music & Culture Festivals
About five nights in mid-May each year on Place Baya in Saint-Louis. Upcoming: 13 to 17 May 2026 (34th edition); a 2027 edition is expected in mid-May.
Dates & details →Echternach Hopping Procession
Echternach · Luxembourg
Witness / Attend
Held once a year on Whit Tuesday, the Tuesday after Pentecost, in the streets of Echternach, ending at the Basilica of Saint Willibrord. Organized by the Willibrordus-Bauverein and inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2010. The date moves with Easter between mid-May and mid-June: next on 18 May 2027, then around 6 June 2028; it repeats every Whit Tuesday.
Dates & details →Gran Carnaval Internacional de La Ceiba
La Ceiba · Honduras
Music & Culture Festivals
Held on a Saturday in May each year as the climax of the Feria Isidra, honoring San Isidro, on Avenida San Isidro in La Ceiba. Upcoming: 23 May 2026 (54th edition); a 2027 edition is expected in May.
Dates & details →Festspillene i Bergen
Bergen · Norway
Music at the Source
The festival runs about 15 days from late May.
Dates & details →MTN Bushfire
Malkerns · Eswatini
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually over the last weekend of May at House on Fire in the Malkerns Valley, a three-day Pan-African music and arts festival organized by the House on Fire arts venue. The 19th edition runs 29 to 31 May 2026; the 20th is expected in late May 2027.
Dates & details →Vivid Sydney
Sydney · Australia
Witness / Attend
Annual, roughly three and a half weeks from late May into the June long weekend.
Dates & details →June 2027
Mainstage Festivals
Dhermi · Albania
Music & Culture Festivals
Annual, one week in early June.
Dates & details →Primavera Sound
Barcelona · Spain
Music & Culture Festivals
Five days in late May or early June (the festival has moved between these windows).
Dates & details →Nestinarstvo
Balgari · Bulgaria
Witness / Attend
Fixed annually on June 3-4, the saints' feast.
Dates & details →Rock am Ring
Nurburg · Germany
Music & Culture Festivals
The festival runs Friday to Sunday in early June, with campgrounds opening midweek.
Dates & details →Midnight Sun Film Festival
Sodankyla · Finland
Film Festivals
Held annually over five days in mid-June, when the sun does not set, in Sodankyla in Finnish Lapland. Founded in 1986 by Aki and Mika Kaurismaki and Peter von Bagh and run by the Sodankyla Film Festival Association, with films screened around the clock. Upcoming: 41st edition 10 to 14 June 2026; the 2027 edition is expected in mid-June and confirmed by the organizer nearer the time.
Dates & details →24 Hours of Le Mans
Le Mans · France
Witness / Attend
Race week falls in mid-June.
Dates & details →Trail 100 Andorra by UTMB
Ordino · Andorra
Running / Endurance
Three to four days in mid-June each year, based in Ordino. The 2026 edition ran 12 to 14 June; the 2027 edition is set for 10 to 13 June.
Dates & details →Transilvania International Film Festival
Cluj-Napoca · Romania
Film Festivals
Annual, roughly ten days in mid-June.
Dates & details →Arena di Verona Opera Festival
Verona · Italy
Music at the Source
June 12 to
Dates & details →Art Basel
Basel · Switzerland
Witness / Attend
Art Basel runs Thursday to Sunday in mid-June with preview days before
Dates & details →Five-Petalled Rose Festival
Cesky Krumlov · Czechia
Witness / Attend
Three days on the third weekend of June each year across the old town of Cesky Krumlov. Upcoming: 19 to 21 June 2026 (38th edition); a 2027 edition is expected in mid-to-late June.
Dates & details →Art Film Fest
Kosice · Slovakia
Film Festivals
One week in June each year in Kosice. The 32nd edition ran 19 to 25 June 2026; a 33rd edition is expected in June 2027.
Dates & details →Ullortuneq (Greenland National Day)
Nuuk · Greenland
Witness / Attend
Ullortuneq falls every year on 21 June, the summer solstice and the longest day, with the largest public celebration in the capital, Nuuk. Upcoming: 21 June 2027; 21 June 2028.
Dates & details →Heilala Festival
Nuku'alofa · Tonga
Witness / Attend
Held each year across roughly two weeks spanning late June and early July in Nuku'alofa, Tongatapu, organized by the Tonga Tourism Authority around the reigning monarch's birthday on 4 July, with the Miss Heilala pageant, a float parade, cultural competitions and a grand ball. Upcoming: 22 June to 5 July 2026; 2027 dates fall in late June and early July and are confirmed by the organizer nearer the time.
Dates & details →Falles d'Andorra
Andorra la Vella · Andorra
Witness / Attend
The falles burn on the night of Sant Joan, around 23 June (the summer solstice), each year, with some parishes also lighting fires for Sant Pere at the end of June.
Dates & details →Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury · United Kingdom
Music & Culture Festivals
Five days in late June at Worthy Farm near Glastonbury town.
Dates & details →Zanzibar International Film Festival
Stone Town · Tanzania
Film Festivals
Annual, late June to early July.
Dates & details →St. Kitts Music Festival
Basseterre · Saint Kitts and Nevis
Music & Culture Festivals
A three-night festival held annually in late June at Warner Park Stadium, Basseterre. Upcoming: 25 to 27 June 2026 (confirmed, the 28th edition); late June 2027 (expected).
Dates & details →Festival Gnaoua et Musiques du Monde d'Essaouira
Essaouira · Morocco
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually in late June
Dates & details →EMUFEC (Empresa Municipal de Festejos del Cusco)
Cusco · Peru
Witness / Attend
Fixed on June 24 every year.
Dates & details →Festival International de Jazz de Montreal
Montreal · Canada
Music & Culture Festivals
Roughly ten days from late June into the first week of July, annually.
Dates & details →Parintins Festival
Parintins · Brazil
Music & Culture Festivals
Held the last weekend of June each year
Dates & details →Rainforest World Music Festival
Kuching · Malaysia
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually over a weekend in late June at the Sarawak Cultural Village near Kuching, organized by the Sarawak Tourism Board. The 2026 edition, the 29th, runs 26-28 June; the 2027 edition is expected on the last weekend of June.
Dates & details →Donauinselfest
Vienna · Austria
Music & Culture Festivals
The festival runs Friday to Sunday in late June, with full programming from afternoon to midnight each day.
Dates & details →Vincy Mas
Kingstown · Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Witness / Attend
A roughly two-week national carnival across late June and early July, climaxing on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, set each year by the Carnival Development Corporation. Upcoming: about 26 June to 7 July 2026 (confirmed, Carnival Tuesday 7 July); late June to early July 2027 (expected).
Dates & details →Roskilde Festival
Roskilde · Denmark
Music & Culture Festivals
Eight days spanning late June into early July each year, the four main-stage days closing the week. Upcoming: 26 June to 3 July 2027.
Dates & details →Wimbledon Championships
Wimbledon · United Kingdom
Witness / Attend
The Championships run a fortnight from late June into July.
Dates & details →Open'er Festival
Gdynia · Poland
Music & Culture Festivals
Held once a year over four days in early July at the Gdynia-Kosakowo airfield, organized by the promoter Alter Art. The 2026 edition ran 1 to 4 July 2026; the next edition is expected in early July 2027.
Dates & details →July 2027
Festival Internacional de Jazz Escaldes-Engordany
Escaldes-Engordany · Andorra
Music & Culture Festivals
About a week in early July each year in Escaldes-Engordany, at the Prat del Roure hall with free open-air concerts on Coprinceps square. The 42nd edition ran 2 to 9 July 2026; the festival returns in early July 2027.
Dates & details →Keti Koti
Paramaribo · Suriname
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 1 July, a public holiday, across downtown Paramaribo: morning commemorations of the 1863 abolition of slavery at Fort Zeelandia and the Kwakoe monument, followed by the Bigi Spikri parade and street celebration. Upcoming: 1 July 2027 and 1 July 2028; the pattern repeats every 1 July.
Dates & details →Heiva i Tahiti
Papeete · French Polynesia
Witness / Attend
Held each July at the To'ata amphitheater on the Papeete waterfront, organized by Te Fare Tauhiti Nui (Maison de la Culture), with district troupes competing in Tahitian dance, himene singing and drumming across roughly two weeks of evening performances. Some editions are staged as a non-competitive gala. Upcoming: 2 to 18 July 2026 (main nights 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 17, 18 July); 2027 dates fall in July and are confirmed by the organizer nearer the time.
Dates & details →Copenhagen Jazz Festival
Copenhagen · Denmark
Music & Culture Festivals
Ten days starting the first Friday of July each year, across more than 100 venues citywide. Upcoming: the 2027 edition is expected around 2 to 11 July.
Dates & details →Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux · Switzerland
Music & Culture Festivals
16-day festival in July on the shores of Lake Geneva with the Alps as backdrop.
Dates & details →Palio di Siena
Siena · Italy
Witness / Attend
Two races a year: July 2 and August 16.
Dates & details →Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary · Czechia
Film Festivals
Nine days in early July each year in Karlovy Vary, centerd on the Hotel Thermal. Upcoming: 3 to 11 July 2026 (60th edition); a 2027 edition is expected in early July.
Dates & details →Savonlinna Opera Festival
Savonlinna · Finland
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually across about a month in July, ending in early August, in the courtyard of Olavinlinna castle in Savonlinna. Founded in 1912 by the soprano Aino Ackte and run by the Savonlinna Opera Festival. Upcoming: 2026 season 3 July to 1 August; the 2027 season falls in July and is confirmed by the festival nearer the time.
Dates & details →Fiesta del Fuego (Festival del Caribe)
Santiago de Cuba · Cuba
Witness / Attend
First week of July each year, most recently July 3 to 9. Upcoming: early July 2027.
Dates & details →Vardavar
Yerevan · Armenia
Witness / Attend
Vardavar falls ninety-eight days after Armenian Easter.
Dates & details →Fiesta de San Fermin
Pamplona · Spain
Witness / Attend
Runs July 6 through July 14 every year.
Dates & details →Shandur Polo Festival
Shandur · Pakistan
Witness / Attend
The Shandur Polo Festival runs for three days at the Shandur Pass, traditionally on 7 to 9 July, and is jointly organized by the governments of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The dates shift in some years around the Islamic month of Muharram: the 2026 edition was moved to 11 to 13 June. Confirm the year's dates with the Gilgit-Baltistan tourism department before traveling. Upcoming: 11 to 13 June 2026.
Dates & details →Pohoda Festival
Trencin · Slovakia
Music & Culture Festivals
About four days in early-to-mid July each year on the former military airfield at Trencin (Letisko Trencin). The 30th edition ran 8 to 11 July 2026; the 2027 edition is set for 8 to 10 July.
Dates & details →Pula Film Festival
Pula · Croatia
Film Festivals
Annual in mid-July
Dates & details →Dubrovnik Summer Festival
Dubrovnik · Croatia
Witness / Attend
Annual, July 10 to
Dates & details →Evala
Kara · Togo
Witness / Attend
Held each July across the twelve cantons of the Kozah prefecture around Kara, as the Kabye initiation wrestling. The 2026 wrestling ran 11 to 18 July; the 2027 edition is expected in the same mid-July window.
Dates & details →Naadam Festival
Ulaanbaatar · Mongolia
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 11-13 July as a national holiday, with the main National Naadam in Ulaanbaatar's National Sports Stadium and smaller naadams across the provinces the same week. Upcoming: 11-13 July 2027.
Dates & details →Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival
Yerevan · Armenia
Film Festivals
Annual in mid-July
Dates & details →Ohrid Summer Festival
Ohrid · North Macedonia
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually, traditionally July 12 to August 20.
Dates & details →Ubumuntu Arts Festival
Kigali · Rwanda
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually over about a week in July at the amphitheater of the Kigali Genocide Memorial, with free admission. The 2026 edition runs 13 to 19 July.
Dates & details →Colours of Ostrava
Ostrava · Czechia
Music & Culture Festivals
Four days in mid-July each year at Dolni Vitkovice in Ostrava. Upcoming: 15 to 18 July 2026; a 2027 edition is expected in mid-July.
Dates & details →National Mask and Warwagira Festival
Rabaul · Papua New Guinea
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over several days in mid-July each year at the Kokopo showground in East New Britain, the successor to the older Warwagira festival.
Dates & details →Salalah Tourism Festival
Salalah · Oman
Witness / Attend
Held through the Khareef monsoon each summer, roughly mid-July to late August, on the Ittin plain outside Salalah. In 2025 the festival ran 15 July to 31 August; the 2026 and 2027 editions are expected to follow a similar mid-July to late-August window within the wider Khareef season of about 21 June to 21 September.
Dates & details →Les Vieilles Charrues
Carhaix · France
Music & Culture Festivals
Four days in mid-July
Dates & details →Tobago Heritage Festival
Scarborough · Trinidad and Tobago
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually across roughly two weeks from mid-July into early August, staged by the Tobago Festivals Commission, with each participating village given its own night or weekend on a published island-wide schedule. The 2026 edition, the 39th, runs 16 July to 1 August; the 2027 edition is expected on similar mid-July to early-August dates.
Dates & details →Reggae Sumfest
Montego Bay · Jamaica
Music & Culture Festivals
Normally a week of concerts each July at Catherine Hall in Montego Bay. In 2026 it runs as a single night, A Taste of Sumfest, on 18 July at Plantation Cove, St. Ann, while the Montego Bay venue recovers from hurricane damage; a return to the usual July week in Montego Bay is expected for 2027.
Dates & details →FESPAM
Brazzaville · Congo
Music & Culture Festivals
Biennial, in odd-numbered years, over about a week in late July, in Brazzaville. The 12th edition ran 19 to 26 July 2025, marking the festival's 30th anniversary; the next edition is expected in July 2027.
Dates & details →Yasaka-jinja Shrine / Gion Matsuri Yamaboko Rengokai
Kyoto · Japan
Witness / Attend
Spans July, with the grand processions on July 17 and 24.
Dates & details →Drina Regatta
Bajina Basta · Serbia
Witness / Attend
The Great Descent falls on the third Saturday of July.
Dates & details →Hill of Crosses
Siauliai · Lithuania
Witness / Attend
The site is open freely year-round; the annual feast (Kryziu kalno atlaidai) falls on the penultimate Sunday of July. Upcoming: 19 July 2026; 18 July 2027.
Dates & details →Lucian Carnival
Castries · Saint Lucia
Witness / Attend
Held each July in and around Castries, with the season building through early July to the pre-dawn J'Ouvert and two days of the Parade of the Bands in the third week. Delivered by the Events Company of Saint Lucia with the Carnival Planning and Management Committee. Upcoming: the 2026 parade days fall on 20 and 21 July.
Dates & details →Isle of MTV Malta
Floriana · Malta
Music & Culture Festivals
One free open-air concert on a night in mid-to-late July at Il-Fosos, Floriana, opening Malta Music Week. Upcoming: 22 July 2026; a 2027 edition is expected in July.
Dates & details →Bregenzer Festspiele
Bregenz · Austria
Witness / Attend
The festival runs from late July to late August.
Dates & details →Viljandi Folk Music Festival
Viljandi · Estonia
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over four days in late July each year at the Viljandi Castle Hills and around the town. Upcoming: 23 to 26 July 2026 (the 33rd edition); a 2027 edition is expected in late July.
Dates & details →Festival International de Musique Symphonique d'El Jem
El Jem · Tunisia
Music & Culture Festivals
Concerts across July and August each summer in the Roman amphitheater of El Jem. Upcoming: the 39th edition runs from about 24 July to 12 August 2026; a 2027 edition is expected across July and August.
Dates & details →Fuji Rock Festival
Naeba · Japan
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually for three days in late July, squarely in Japan's humid summer, with regular afternoon rain a near-certainty most years
Dates & details →Antigua Carnival
St. John's · Antigua and Barbuda
Music & Culture Festivals
Held every year over about twelve days from late July into the first week of August in St. John's. The 2026 carnival runs 25 July to 4 August; a further edition is expected in late July 2027.
Dates & details →Bayreuther Festspiele
Bayreuth · Germany
Music at the Source
The Festspiele runs late July to the end of August.
Dates & details →Fiestas de Santiago Apostol
Loiza · Puerto Rico
Witness / Attend
Held each year in Loiza in late July around the fixed feast of Saint James the Apostle (Santiago Apostol) on 25 July, with masked vejigante processions traditionally on 25, 26 and 27 July and about ten days of bomba, food and religious events. Community and religious festival with no central ticket office. Upcoming: 25 to 27 July 2026 for the main processions; the dates recur to the 25 July feast each year.
Dates & details →Mostar Bridge Diving
Mostar · Bosnia and Herzegovina
Witness / Attend
The traditional bridge-diving competition falls on the last Sunday of July.
Dates & details →PANAFEST and Emancipation Day
Cape Coast · Ghana
Witness / Attend
Emancipation Day is commemorated around 1 August every year at the Cape Coast and Elmina castles; the PANAFEST Pan-African festival runs alongside it every two years in odd-numbered years. Upcoming: Emancipation Day observances around 1 August 2026; the next full PANAFEST expected late July to early August 2027.
Dates & details →Osun-Osogbo Festival
Osogbo · Nigeria
Witness / Attend
Held annually over about two weeks in late July and early August, culminating in the Arugba procession to the Osun river on the final Friday. The 2026 festival ran 27 July to 7 August; the 2027 edition is expected in the same late-July to early-August window.
Dates & details →Wacken Open Air
Wacken · Germany
Music & Culture Festivals
The festival runs over the first weekend of August, with arrival days beforehand for the campgrounds.
Dates & details →Cup Match
St. George's, Bermuda · Bermuda
Witness / Attend
Held every year on the Thursday and Friday before the first Monday in August, the two-day public holiday alternating between St. George's and Somerset. Upcoming: 30 to 31 July 2026 and 29 to 30 July 2027.
Dates & details →Feria de las Flores
Medellin · Colombia
Witness / Attend
Held annually across late July and the first ten days of August
Dates & details →Carriacou Regatta Festival
Carriacou · Grenada
Witness / Attend
Held over Emancipation weekend at the start of August each year (the festival dates from 1965), with traditional Carriacou sloop and workboat races off Hillsborough and onshore string-band, Big Drum and quadrille celebrations. Upcoming: 31 July to 2 August 2026; expected late July to early August 2027.
Dates & details →Crop Over
Bridgetown · Barbados
Music & Culture Festivals
Runs each year from late June through early August in and around Bridgetown, produced by the National Cultural Foundation. A season of calypso and soca competitions builds to the pre-dawn Foreday Morning street jump and climaxes on Grand Kadooment Day, the first Monday of August. Upcoming: Grand Kadooment falls on 3 August 2026 and on 2 August 2027.
Dates & details →August 2027
Medeltidsveckan (Medieval Week)
Visby · Sweden
Witness / Attend
Held once a year over eight days in early August in Visby on Gotland, staged since 1984 by the association Medeltidsveckan pa Gotland. The 2026 edition runs 2 to 9 August; the 2027 edition is expected in early August, in week 31 or 32. It repeats every year in early August.
Dates & details →Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Edinburgh · United Kingdom
Music & Culture Festivals
25 days through August.
Dates & details →Sinjska Alka
Sinj · Croatia
Witness / Attend
Held annually on a Sunday in early August, customarily the first Sunday.
Dates & details →Spicemas
St. George's · Grenada
Music & Culture Festivals
Held every August, climaxing on the second Monday of August (Carnival Monday) and the following Tuesday (Fancy Mas), with J'ouvert before dawn on the Monday, coordinated by the Spicemas Corporation. Feeder events (Panorama, Soca Monarch, Dimanche Gras, Traditional Mas Festival) run across the preceding days. Upcoming: J'ouvert and Monday Night Mas 10 August 2026, Fancy Mas 11 August 2026; Carnival Monday 9 August 2027.
Dates & details →Sziget Festival
Budapest · Hungary
Music & Culture Festivals
About a week in mid-August each year on Obuda Island, Budapest, with a camper move-in day the day before. Upcoming: 11 to 15 August 2026 (move-in 10 August); a 2027 edition is expected in mid-August.
Dates & details →Flow Festival
Helsinki · Finland
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually over three days in mid-August at the Suvilahti former power-plant site in Helsinki, organized by Flow Festival Oy and running since 2004. Upcoming: 2026 edition 14 to 16 August; the 2027 edition is expected in mid-August and confirmed by the organizer nearer the time.
Dates & details →Liechtenstein National Day (Staatsfeiertag)
Vaduz · Liechtenstein
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 15 August, Liechtenstein's National Day, in and around Vaduz Castle and the capital's Stadtle. Upcoming: 15 August 2026 (confirmed); 15 August 2027 (expected).
Dates & details →Chale Wote Street Art Festival
Jamestown · Ghana
Music & Culture Festivals
Held in James Town, Accra for about a week in the second half of August each year, free to attend, with dates announced by ACCRA [dot] ALT around June. Upcoming: expected mid-to-late August 2026 and again in August 2027.
Dates & details →Palio di Siena
Siena · Italy
Witness / Attend
Two races a year: July 2 and August 16.
Dates & details →Mount Hagen Cultural Show
Mount Hagen · Papua New Guinea
Witness / Attend
Held on a weekend in mid-August each year, usually the third weekend, at Queen's Park in Mount Hagen.
Dates & details →Umhlanga Reed Dance
Ludzidzini · Eswatini
Witness / Attend
Held once a year in late August at the Ludzidzini royal residence, an eight-day national ceremony culminating in a main dance day that is a public holiday. Dates are set by the Swazi royal household from ancestral astrology and announced only weeks ahead. The 2026 main day is expected on or around 31 August; the 2027 ceremony is expected in late August.
Dates & details →Electric Picnic
Stradbally · Ireland
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually over the last weekend of August, Friday to Sunday with Thursday early entry, in the grounds of Stradbally Hall, County Laois. The 2026 edition runs 28 to 30 August.
Dates & details →Air Guitar World Championships
Oulu · Finland
Witness / Attend
Held annually in late August in Oulu, northern Finland, produced by Airnest Productions, with a two-evening world final. First staged in 1996, the contest judges sixty-second air-guitar routines on technical merit, stage presence and airness. Upcoming: 2026 championship 26 to 29 August, world final 28 to 29 August; the 2027 edition is expected in late August and confirmed by the organizer nearer the time.
Dates & details →George Enescu Festival
Bucharest · Romania
Music at the Source
Biennial in odd years, running late August through September.
Dates & details →Hibiscus Festival
Suva · Fiji
Music & Culture Festivals
A week-long festival in the late dry season, usually late August into early September, on a calendar set each year by the organising committee. Upcoming: 29 August to 5 September 2026 (confirmed, the seventieth edition, at Albert Park); around late August to early September 2027 (expected).
Dates & details →September 2027
Curacao North Sea Jazz Festival
Willemstad · Curacao
Music & Culture Festivals
Held every year over three nights in early September at the World Trade Center, Piscadera Bay, Willemstad. The 2026 edition runs 3 to 5 September; a further edition is expected in early September 2027.
Dates & details →Teuila Festival
Apia · Samoa
Music & Culture Festivals
Held annually in Apia in the first week of September, since 1991. Samoa's tourism authority signalled in mid 2026 that the festival may run under a Samoa Arts and Culture Week banner from 2026; confirm dates and format on the official calendar.
Dates & details →Reeperbahn Festival
Hamburg · Germany
Music & Culture Festivals
The festival runs Wednesday to Saturday in mid-September, with wristbands covering venue access on a capacity basis, arrive early for buzzed-about shows.
Dates & details →Goroka Show
Goroka · Papua New Guinea
Witness / Attend
Held over a weekend in mid-September each year, timed to the Independence Day weekend around 16 September, at the National Sports Institute grounds in Goroka.
Dates & details →The Roof of Africa
Maseru · Lesotho
Motorcycle Adventure Touring
Held annually over three days in late September in the Maloti Mountains near Maseru, as a round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. Exact dates shift a few days each year with the FIM calendar. 2026 runs 24 to 26 September; 2027 is expected in late September.
Dates & details →October 2027
Golden Eagle Festival
Bayan-Olgii · Mongolia
Witness / Attend
The main Golden Eagle Festival runs on the first weekend of October outside Olgii, Bayan-Olgii, with a smaller Sagsai festival in September. Upcoming: 3-4 October 2026; first weekend of October 2027.
Dates & details →National Wine Day (Ziua Nationala a Vinului)
Chisinau · Moldova
Music & Culture Festivals
The first weekend of October each year, in Chisinau's Great National Assembly Square. The 2026 edition, the 25th, runs 3 to 4 October; the 2027 edition is expected on 2 to 3 October.
Dates & details →Film Fest Gent
Ghent · Belgium
Film Festivals
Held each October in Ghent over about eleven days, organized by the Film Fest Gent non-profit, and incorporating the World Soundtrack Awards. Upcoming: 7 to 18 October 2026 (53rd edition, World Soundtrack Awards on 10 October); a 2027 edition is expected in October.
Dates & details →Durga Puja in Kolkata
Kolkata · India
Witness / Attend
Durga Puja follows the lunar calendar, falling in late September or October.
Dates & details →Lalon Smaran Utsav
Kushtia · Bangladesh
Music at the Source
Bauls and devotees gather at Lalon's shrine in Cheuria, Kushtia, twice a year: for about three days around Dol Purnima (the Falgun full moon, roughly February to March) and for three days from 1 Kartik (around 16 October), the anniversary of Lalon Shah's death. The Dol Purnima dates shift with the lunar calendar each year; the autumn festival falls near mid-October.
Dates & details →Rolex Middle Sea Race
Valletta · Malta
Sailing
Starts from Grand Harbour, Valletta on a Saturday in mid-to-late October each year. Upcoming: the 47th edition starts on 17 October 2026; a 2027 edition is expected in mid-to-late October.
Dates & details →Sierra Leone Marathon
Makeni · Sierra Leone
Running / Endurance
Held once a year in Makeni, organized by the charity Street Child, with full and half marathon, 10k, 5k and a 75k cycle challenge. The 2026 edition runs 21 to 26 October 2026 (race day within that window); earlier editions ran in May. The 2027 edition is expected in a similar autumn window. It repeats every year.
Dates & details →Abu Simbel Sun Festival
Abu Simbel · Egypt
Witness / Attend
Fixed dates set by the sun: February 22 and October 22 every year.
Dates & details →World Creole Music Festival
Roseau · Dominica
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over three nights on the last weekend of October at Windsor Park Sports Stadium in Roseau, staged by the Discover Dominica Authority as the centerpiece of the island's Independence and Creole season, and running since 1997. Bouyon, cadence-lypso, zouk, soca, reggae, dancehall and afrobeat from across the Creole world. Upcoming: the 26th edition is confirmed for 23 to 25 October 2026.
Dates & details →Abissa
Grand-Bassam · Cote d'Ivoire
Witness / Attend
Held each year over about a week from the last Sunday of October to the first Sunday of November in the historic quarter of Grand-Bassam. A traditional N'zima community festival with no single organizer; dates follow the fixed rule rather than an annual announcement.
Dates & details →Day of the Dead in Oaxaca
Oaxaca · Mexico
Witness / Attend
Core dates fixed: October 31 through November 2.
Dates & details →November 2027
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival
Tallinn · Estonia
Film Festivals
Held over about sixteen days each November in Tallinn. Upcoming: 6 to 22 November 2026 (the 30th edition); a 2027 edition is expected in mid-to-late November.
Dates & details →Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival
Taipei · Taiwan
Film Festivals
Held each year in November in Taipei, with the Golden Horse Awards ceremony near the end of the month. The 2026 edition runs 6 to 22 November; the 2027 dates are expected in November again.
Dates & details →Pushkar Camel Fair
Pushkar · India
Witness / Attend
The fair follows the lunar calendar, culminating on Kartik Purnima, the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik.
Dates & details →Bon Om Touk
Phnom Penh · Cambodia
Witness / Attend
Three days around the full moon of the Khmer month of Kadeuk in November, so the dates shift yearly with the lunar calendar. Upcoming: 23 to 25 November 2026 (confirmed); around 13 to 15 November 2027 (expected, projected from the November 2027 full moon).
Dates & details →EnergaCAMERIMAGE
Torun · Poland
Film Festivals
Held once a year in November in Torun, an eight-day international festival of the art of cinematography organized by the Tumult Foundation. The 34th edition is confirmed for 7 to 14 November 2026.
Dates & details →Dev Deepawali
Varanasi · India
Witness / Attend
Dev Deepawali falls on Kartik Purnima, the full moon of the Hindu month of Kartik, in November, occasionally late October.
Dates & details →Macau Grand Prix
Guia Circuit · Macau
Witness / Attend
Run over one long weekend in mid to late November each year on the Guia street circuit. Upcoming: 19 to 22 November 2026 (73rd edition, provisional); mid to late November 2027 (expected).
Dates & details →Garifuna Settlement Day
Dangriga · Belize
Witness / Attend
A fixed national public holiday on 19 November every year, centerd on Dangriga. Upcoming: 19 November 2026 (confirmed); 19 November 2027 (fixed by statute).
Dates & details →Amsterdam Light Festival
Amsterdam · Netherlands
Witness / Attend
Held annually from late November to mid-January, with commissioned light-art installations along the canals of central Amsterdam, viewable on a free walking or cycling route and by canal cruise. Organized by the Amsterdam Light Festival foundation. The 15th edition runs 26 November 2026 to 17 January 2027; the 16th is expected late November 2027 to mid-January 2028.
Dates & details →Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt
Nuremberg · Germany
Witness / Attend
The market runs from the Friday before Advent through December 24, with the Christkind's opening prologue drawing the biggest single crowd.
Dates & details →December 2027
Hornbill Festival
Kohima · India
Witness / Attend
Fixed on December 1-10 every year.
Dates & details →MDLBEAST Soundstorm
Riyadh · Saudi Arabia
Music & Culture Festivals
Held over three days in early December each year at the Banban site north of Riyadh. Upcoming: 3 to 5 December 2026; early December 2027 expected.
Dates & details →Seb-i Arus
Konya · Turkey
Witness / Attend
Runs December 7 to 17 annually.
Dates & details →Sugar Mas
Basseterre · Saint Kitts and Nevis
Witness / Attend
A national carnival season running from mid-December into the first days of January, set each year by the National Carnival Commission. Upcoming: Sugar Mas 55, 11 December 2026 to 2 January 2027 (confirmed); Sugar Mas 56, mid-December 2027 to early January 2028 (expected).
Dates & details →Las Parrandas de Remedios
Remedios · Cuba
Witness / Attend
Builds nightly from December 16, with the all-night climax on Christmas Eve, December 24, every year.
Dates & details →Calabar Carnival
Calabar · Nigeria
Witness / Attend
A month-long festival each December in Calabar, with the flagship parades falling between about 26 and 30 December. The 2026 edition runs its main events 26 to 30 December.
Dates & details →AfroFuture
Accra · Ghana
Music & Culture Festivals
Held in Accra over two days in late December each year as the headline event of Ghana's Detty December. Upcoming: expected 28 to 29 December 2026 and again in late December 2027; dates and venue confirmed by the organizers closer to the time.
Dates & details →Owru Yari
Paramaribo · Suriname
Music & Culture Festivals
Held every year on 31 December in downtown Paramaribo, with the Pagara Estafette firecracker relay through the day and street celebrations into New Year's Eve night. Upcoming: 31 December 2026 and 31 December 2027; the pattern repeats every 31 December.
Dates & details →January 2028
Vevcani Carnival
Vevcani · North Macedonia
Witness / Attend
Fixed on January 13-14 for old-calendar New Year.
Dates & details →Sinulog
Cebu City · Philippines
Witness / Attend
Held annually on the third Sunday of January.
Dates & details →Timkat
Gondar · Ethiopia
Witness / Attend
Timkat, the Ethiopian Orthodox Epiphany, falls on 11 Ter, which is 19 January in most years and 20 January in the year before a Gregorian leap year, with the Ketera eve procession the afternoon before. Upcoming: 19 January 2027 in Gondar; 20 January 2028.
Dates & details →Goteborg Film Festival
Gothenburg · Sweden
Film Festivals
Held once a year over ten days from late January into early February in Gothenburg, staged since 1979 by the Goteborg Film Festival organization. The 50th edition runs 29 January to 7 February 2027; the 2028 edition is expected in late January to early February. It repeats every year in the same winter window.
Dates & details →February 2028
Jokkmokk Winter Market
Jokkmokk · Sweden
Witness / Attend
Held once a year on the first Thursday to Saturday of February in Jokkmokk, on the Arctic Circle, arranged by Jokkmokk Municipality in a four-hundred-year tradition. The 2027 edition, the 422nd market, runs 4 to 6 February; the 2028 edition is expected in early February. It repeats every year on the first Thursday to Saturday of February.
Dates & details →Abu Simbel Sun Festival
Abu Simbel · Egypt
Witness / Attend
Fixed dates set by the sun: February 22 and October 22 every year.
Dates & details →Vastelaovend
Maastricht · Netherlands
Witness / Attend
Held on the three days before Ash Wednesday (Sunday to Tuesday), so the date moves with the church calendar, usually in February and sometimes early March. In Maastricht it is organized by the city carnival association Vereniging De Tempeleers and opens with the hoisting of the Mooswief over the Markt. Next editions 7 to 9 February 2027 and 27 to 29 February 2028.
Dates & details →Trinidad Carnival
Port of Spain · Trinidad and Tobago
Witness / Attend
Carnival climaxes on Carnival Monday and Tuesday, the two days before Ash Wednesday, so the dates move with the Christian calendar between early February and early March. The Panorama steelband final falls on the Saturday before, Dimanche Gras on the Sunday, and J'ouvert in the pre-dawn dark of Carnival Monday. Carnival 2027 is Monday 8 and Tuesday 9 February; 2028 is expected on 28 and 29 February.
Dates & details →March 2028
April 2028
Tourism Authority of Thailand (Maha Songkran World Water Festival)
Bangkok · Thailand
Witness / Attend
April 13-15 every year.
Dates & details →Pohela Boishakh
Dhaka · Bangladesh
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 14 April, the first day (1 Boishakh) of the Bangla calendar. Its centerpiece is the dawn Mangal Shobhajatra procession from the University of Dhaka Faculty of Fine Arts, inscribed by UNESCO in 2016; since 2025 the procession has been staged under the name Ananda Shobhajatra. Next dates: 14 April 2027, 14 April 2028.
Dates & details →Seu Harvest Parade
Willemstad · Curacao
Witness / Attend
Held every year on Easter Monday in Willemstad, the harvest parade winding through the Otrobanda district. Upcoming: 29 March 2027 and 17 April 2028.
Dates & details →Antigua Sailing Week
English Harbour · Antigua and Barbuda
Sailing
Held annually over five days in late April, out of English and Falmouth Harbours. The 58th edition runs 21 to 25 April 2027; a further edition is expected in late April 2028.
Dates & details →June 2028
Nestinarstvo
Balgari · Bulgaria
Witness / Attend
Fixed annually on June 3-4, the saints' feast.
Dates & details →Echternach Hopping Procession
Echternach · Luxembourg
Witness / Attend
Held once a year on Whit Tuesday, the Tuesday after Pentecost, in the streets of Echternach, ending at the Basilica of Saint Willibrord. Organized by the Willibrordus-Bauverein and inscribed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage in 2010. The date moves with Easter between mid-May and mid-June: next on 18 May 2027, then around 6 June 2028; it repeats every Whit Tuesday.
Dates & details →Ullortuneq (Greenland National Day)
Nuuk · Greenland
Witness / Attend
Ullortuneq falls every year on 21 June, the summer solstice and the longest day, with the largest public celebration in the capital, Nuuk. Upcoming: 21 June 2027; 21 June 2028.
Dates & details →EMUFEC (Empresa Municipal de Festejos del Cusco)
Cusco · Peru
Witness / Attend
Fixed on June 24 every year.
Dates & details →Nationwide Latvian Song and Dance Celebration
Riga · Latvia
Music & Culture Festivals
Held about every five years over roughly ten days at the turn of June and July in Riga, climaxing in a massed choir concert at the Mezaparks Great Bandstand; a UNESCO-listed tradition. The 150th-anniversary edition ran in 2023; the next, the XXVIII celebration, is confirmed for 30 June to 9 July 2028.
Dates & details →July 2028
Keti Koti
Paramaribo · Suriname
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 1 July, a public holiday, across downtown Paramaribo: morning commemorations of the 1863 abolition of slavery at Fort Zeelandia and the Kwakoe monument, followed by the Bigi Spikri parade and street celebration. Upcoming: 1 July 2027 and 1 July 2028; the pattern repeats every 1 July.
Dates & details →Palio di Siena
Siena · Italy
Witness / Attend
Two races a year: July 2 and August 16.
Dates & details →Lithuanian Song Celebration
Vilnius · Lithuania
Music & Culture Festivals
Held about every four years over several days in early July at Vingis Park and across Vilnius; a UNESCO-listed tradition. The centennial edition ran in 2024; the next celebration is expected in summer 2028.
Dates & details →Fiesta de San Fermin
Pamplona · Spain
Witness / Attend
Runs July 6 through July 14 every year.
Dates & details →Naadam Festival
Ulaanbaatar · Mongolia
Witness / Attend
Held every year on 11-13 July as a national holiday, with the main National Naadam in Ulaanbaatar's National Sports Stadium and smaller naadams across the provinces the same week. Upcoming: 11-13 July 2027.
Dates & details →Yasaka-jinja Shrine / Gion Matsuri Yamaboko Rengokai
Kyoto · Japan
Witness / Attend
Spans July, with the grand processions on July 17 and 24.
Dates & details →August 2028
October 2028
December 2028
Hornbill Festival
Kohima · India
Witness / Attend
Fixed on December 1-10 every year.
Dates & details →Blue Chair Film Festival
Luang Prabang · Laos
Film Festivals
Runs for several days in early December in Luang Prabang, now on a roughly biennial cycle under the Blue Chair name (formerly the annual Luang Prabang Film Festival). Upcoming: 4 to 8 December 2026; a following edition is expected in December 2028.
Dates & details →Seb-i Arus
Konya · Turkey
Witness / Attend
Runs December 7 to 17 annually.
Dates & details →