The celebration of the Lanzarote Carnival 2024 will take place, as usual, between the months of February and March.
Lanzarote Carnival Dates 2025
Arrecife Carnival 2025
Arrecife Carnival 2025 Program (Pending).
Puerto del Carmen Carnival 2025
The Puerto del Carmen Carnival will take place on March 6, 7 and 8.
Tías will celebrate the Carnival with the allegory Alice in Wonderland.
Program of the Carnival of Puerto del Carmen 2025 (Pending).
Yaiza and Playa Blanca Carnival 2025
The Playa Blanca Carnival will revolve around the allegory ‘México lindo y querido’ and will take place from March 27 to 30.
Playa Blanca Carnival 2025 Program (Pending).
Haría Carnival 2025
Program of the Haría Carnival 2025 (Pending).
Carnival of Teguise, Costa Teguise and La Graciosa 2025
Teguise and Costa Teguise Carnival Program 2025 (Pending).
La Graciosa Carnival Program 2025 (Pending).
San Bartholome Carnival 2025
San Bartolomé Carnival Program 2025 (Pending).
Tinajo Carnival 2025
The Tinajo Carnival will take place from March 14th to 16th.
Tinajo Carnival 2025 Program (Pending).
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.