Parades

Sofia Pride was held in the Bulgarian capital for the 16th year in a row. There was a concert in the Prince's Garden, which was followed by a peace procession.

For the first time, the event was openly supported by 11 Bulgarian families, who invited everyone to join Pride Parade as a sign of support for people from the LGBTIQ+ community.

The carnival street parade, the main event of the annual Patra Carnival, which takes place in the runup to Orthodox Lent, will be held for the first time after three years, the local mayor announced.

The port city if Patra in the Peloponnese had to cancel several events and the street parade in the past few years due to coronavirus restrictions.

The parade will be held between 20-23 October

After two long years without its frenetic festival of sparkling sequins, sultry samba and towering floats, Rio de Janeiro is holding its famed carnival parades for the first time since COVID-19 hit Brazil.

Rio de Janeiro would normally be kicking off its famed carnival now, but instead of booming drumlines, glittering floats and barely clad dancers, the Brazilian city's "Sambadrome" is hosting a COVID-19 vaccination drive this year.

Carnaval La Land, a special event featuring musical theater, flash mobs, Afro-Brazilian percussion, samba, tango and many more surprises, will be happening in Syntagma Square on Friday, February 28.

The Hellenic Children's Museum will be hosting a workshop on carnival masks for youngsters aged 3-12 and their families on Wednesday, February 26, in the context of a series of events organized by the City of Athens dedicated to Greek Carnival celebrations. Ribbons, buttons, feathers and a range of other decorations will be made available for the children to create their own personal mask.

A car that rammed into a carnival procession in central Germany on Feb. 24 injured 52 people, including 18 children, police said, adding that the perpetrator's motive remains unclear.

"Among the victims are 18 children [while]... at present 35 people are still undergoing treatment in the hospital and 17 were already able to leave," police in Hesse state posted on Twitter on Feb. 25.

The Athens Wind Orchestra will be performing a free open-air concert in Monastiraki Square in downtown Athens on Tuesday, February 25, in the context of the city's Carnival celebrations dedicated to youngsters. Starting at 1 p.m., the orchestra will be creating a festive mood with upbeat music for children and families.

The City of Athens Philharmonic Orchestra performs outside the Zappeion Megaron building in the National Gardens on Saturday as the capital kicks into Carnival gear. As of last week, Athens is hosting more 60 festive open-air events for everyone, young and old, around the city until March 2 when the Carnival season peaks on Clean Monday.