It’s party time aournd the world!
This is a guide literally on a global scale to annual music festivals, cultural events, carnivals and major celebrations worldwide that are known for their incredible party atmospheres.
2026 Worldwide Major Events
• Mardi Gras is the a celebration of culture with beads, floats and lots of booze. There are celebrations all over the world, wiht the biggest being in Rio and New Orleans Fat Tuesday 2026 is Feb. 17.
• St. Patrick’s Day. St. Patrick may have chased the snakes out of Ireland but he can’t chase away all the parades and celebrations in which people all over the world are Irish for a day. St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, is on a Tuesday in 2026.
• King’s Day, Holland. Formely known as Queen’s Day, this is the biggest annual party in Amsterdam. The date is April 27.
• The Kentucky Derby. A true party bucket list item, the raging party is in the infield – where you may even see the PubClubettes, PubClub’s beautful brand ambassadors – in a scene so wild there is a pit for mud wresting and the beer consumption is on a fraternity house party level. In the grandstands and box suites, a more refined party takes place where people drink Mint Juleps. The annual Run for the Roses is always the first Saturday in May.
• Memorial Day Weekend, USA. It’s party time in America with thei national three-day holiday. Pool parties, beach bashes and the Indy 500 with its wild Snakepit infield party are all part of the scene. Memorial Day Weekend is annually the last weekend in May. In 2026 the Memorial Day Weekend dates are 23-25.
• 4th Of July, USA. America’s biggest party. Basically it’s Memorial Day Weekend all over again, although with more people wearing red, white and blue, drinking out of red and blue Solo cups at huge house parties and fireworks shows across the country.
• Running With The Bulls, Spain. A crazy event first popularized internationally by Ernest Hemingway, it involves a massive party in Pamplona, Spain in which people go out in the streets and run with the wild bulls as they are led into a bull-fighting ring. The dates for the Running With The Bulls are always July 7-14.
• Bastille Day, France. France’s version of the Forth of July with the biggest celebration taking place in Paris. The City of Lights lights up with a fireworks show and earlier in the day there’s a parade and air show. The place to be is along the Champs Elysées. Bastille Day is July 14.
• Munich Oktoberfest. The world’s biggest and most famous beer festival. It’s actually a fair but is more known for raising huge glasses of beer in giant tents. It is always the last weeks of September lasting into the first week of October. The 2026 Munich Oktoberfest dates are Sept. 19-Oct. 4
• New Year’s Eve. This is the world’s biggest party with huge celebrations and fireworks shows taking place at midnight across the globe.
The World’s Major Music Festivals
• New Orelans Jazz & Heritage Festival. America’s most reknowned music festival takes place in a horse racing track in New Orleans. Hundreds of band playing all categories of music take to several stages in a casual scene in which beer is sold by the case – with ice! Always takes place during two weekends, the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May; which is April 24-May 4 in 2026.
• Calgary Stampede, Canada. The Oktoberfest of Canada, this huge national party also takes place in the tents. Tip: Candians love their beer. And for good reason. The Calgary Stampede 2026 dates are July 3-12.
• Zurich Street Parade. With more than 1 million people, this is world’s largest techno music parade with floats going thorough the Old Town. It is annually the second Saturday of August. The 2026 Zurich Street Parade date is Aug. 8.
• Creamfields, Britain. A gigantic music festival on the Bank Holiday Weekend (Aug. 27-30 in 2026). It takes place between Liverpool and Manchester in the Cheshire countryside (Daresbury, Cheshire).