Palma de Mallorca Carnival 2018 Review

The main event, ‘Sa Rua’, attracted thousands of revellers, who when I arrived at almost 17:30, had already lined the streets from La Rambla to Calle de la Riera, up Carrer d’Unió, Plaza Joan Carles I and Avenida de Jaume III. People were moving around, meeting friends and trying to find the best position to feast their eyes on the show. Although there was a mixture of ages and nationalities in attendance, it quickly became apparent that this is a very popular event for children. Many of them had dressed up for the occasion, from princes and princesses to little clowns.

At around 17:30, from Avenida Jaume III I could hear the sound of drums coming from La Rambla in the distance. It got louder and louder as the parade got closer and, as the procession reached me I found that, like many others, I was on tippy toes trying to get the best possible view of the floats and spectacular costumes parading through the street. There were a wide range of themes splashing the streets with colour, including clowns, fairies, lego heroes, cave men and women, smurfs – the list was endless.

Disney and Pixar animated films like Frozen and Finding Nemo were particularly popular among the children. Both the little ones participating and those watching were really embracing the fancy dress and grinning from ear to ear!

Other themes like Ghostbusters and Grease were clearly tailored more for towards the adults. Some floats were accompanied by theme tunes from speakers, whilst others were supplemented by live performances from locals. The clowns playing the drums were my favourite!

The children in the crowds were the most excited about the event and created a lot of the atmosphere. After one procession had come past, you could see their little heads trying to catch a glimpse of what was to come next, whilst the adults had their camera phones at the ready to catch the next picture.

Perhaps the prizes are the reason why the floats and costumes are so impressive at Palma’s carnival! At the end of the event, there was 2,400€ worth of prize money up for grabs. The prizes were to be awarded to the most complicated, appealing, original and inspiring themes.

With a budget of 48,470 euros, Palma is undoubtedly the carnival king of Mallorca. It takes place every year on the weekend before the start of Lent. A wonderful event for the whole family to enjoy!