The celebration of the Lanzarote Carnival 2024 will take place, as usual, between the months of February and March.
Lanzarote Carnival Dates 2024
Arrecife Carnival 2024
Arrecife Carnival will take place from February 1 to 17.
On Saturday 10th and Monday 12th you can enjoy a special Carnival in the Plaza del Almacén.
See Arrecife 2024 Carnival Programme.
San Bartolomé Carnival 2024
San Bartolomé Carnival will be held from 4 to 16 February with the allegory ‘The Wonderful World of Tim Burtolome’.
See San Bartolomé Carnival Programme 2024.
Puerto del Carmen Carnival 2024
The Carnival of Puerto del Carmen will be this year limited to only 3 days.
It will take place from February 16 to 18, being the 17th the day of the Main Parade.
See Puerto del Carmen 2024 Carnival Programme.
Haría Carnival 2024
Haría Carnival 2024 will take place during the weekend from friday 23rd to saturday 24th under the allegory Mexico.
El Programa del Carnaval de Haría 2024 se desarrollará el fin de semana del 23 y 24 de febrero.
See Haría 2024 Carnival Programme.
Carnival of Teguise and Costa Teguise 2024
The Teguise & Costa Teguise Carnival will run from February 28th to March 3rd under the allegory A Venetian masquerade in Teguise.
See Teguise & Costa Teguise 2024 Carnival Programme.
Tinajo Carnival 2024
The Tinajo Carnival will run from the 1st to the 3rd of March under the allegory “The 60’s”.
See Tinajo Carnival Programme 2024
Yaiza and Playa Blanca Carnival 2024
The Playa Blanca Carnival will take place from March 7 to 10.
See Playa Blanca Programme 2024
La Graciosa Carnival 2024
The La Graciosa Carnival will take place from March 8th to 9th under the allegory A Venetian masquerade in Teguise.
See La Graciosa Carnival Programme 2024
Lanzarote Carnival, a popular tradition
Traditionally, forty days before Christian Lent, the carnival takes over the island.
10 days of costumes, parades and parties in the street.
Many imitate to perfection present day characters such as presidents or actors.
During this festival, you might encounter Prime Minister or the exact replica of the USA President or even, Charlot, Groucho Marx or Jim Carey from the movie Ace Ventura.
However, watch out-evil characters can also make an appearance. It would not be strange to find Adolf Hitler, Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter or Freddy Krueger sitting right next to you sipping a drink.
Arrecife Carnival, the most important one
The main carnival in Lanzarote takes place in its capital, Arrecife.
Despite all the costumes, the laughter, the dancing and the singing until dawn, the carnival festivities still maintain some kind of order.
This comes in the form of a float parade.
It’s 5pm on carnival Monday, with Tuesday being a holiday, and if all goes as planned, children and adults flock to the streets in masks.
The procession crosses the city to the sounds of salsa and bachata rhythms.
The traditional dancing bands, comparsa groups and batucada rhythms get going as they wait for the chiringuito refreshment stands and festivities to start.
And of course, more fun, laughing, dancing, singing and joking for everyone, alcohol and partying.
Everybody just feels like kissing, loving, dancing and hugging… You can’t write about the carnival, you just have to live it!
The Friday prior to this crazy Monday, the city started off with a disguise party.
It has a similar dynamic but involves more open spaces.
You do not need much to take part, any type of cloak will do and if you can add a mask you’ll be more than ready to go.
The festivities take place on Friday and Saturday night in the capital city, Arrecife, normally, next to its seafront avenue.
The Drag Queen contest is held on Sunday as a little taster before the biggest march of all.
During the week, there is also the murga competition with bands of street musicians and the comparsas exhibition. The murga groups make fun of the political class of Lanzarote.
It is a space for social and political critique, during which the local politicians in the first row of the audience are often subtly reprimanded several times.
A safe Carnival
Just like in the rest of the municipalities (Haría, Yaiza, San Bartolomé and Costa Teguise), the carnival in Arrecife is known for its excellent security and safety measures.
In more than a century of celebrations involving crowds of people drinking in the streets, there has not been one serious incident reported.
It is all about having a good time, and everyone is in the mood to kiss, hug and love.
The Burial of the Sardine (Entierro de la Sardina) closes the Carnival
Carnival lovers never want the carnival to end.
However, all good things have to come to an end and the fun is interrupted with the Burial of the Sardine, an old tradition of burning a sardine in public two days after carnival Monday.
Another parade, which in this case has to do with mourning and sadness, crosses the oceanfront avenue in Arrecife until the purifying fire goes out and gets rid of all vices, debauchery and feelings of lack of control that come out during the festivities.
This ritual symbolizes the return to order and regeneration.
Let’s get back to normal life now, the one we live all year round. We will cry and pray that the time passes quickly until carnival is back next year.