For Honor – Vikings Gather For Up Helly Aa Festival In Shetland Islands
Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Few have heard of it, let alone been. Our destination is Shetland in the far north of Scotland, where one of the most incredible festivals in Europe is held. On the last Tuesday of January, the town of Lerwick goes more than a little mad. Up Helly Aa is a lot more than a sub-arctic bonfire and booze-up. It’s a superb spectacle, a celebration of Shetland’s history and a triumphant demonstration of the islanders’ skills and spirit. Fifty helmeted Vikings and a burning Norse galley. Unmissable! Continue reading »
“Enfarinats” Festival – The Battle With Flour And Eggs In Spain
Jaime Reina/AFP Photo
Residents of the Spanish town of Ibi staged a mock military coup on Monday 28 December, pelting each other with flour and eggs, and letting off firecrackers and fire extinguishers. The battle was part of a festival held every year as part of celebrations of the Day of the Innocents in the village in the Valencia region. Continue reading »
Wasteland: The Mad Max Festival That Makes Burning Man Look Lame
Photo by Tod Seelie for Wired
Chaos is the norm at Wasteland, the “world’s largest post-apocalyptic festival” that turns the Mojave Desert into a glorious vision of hell on earth. For four days each September, thousands of survivors maraud a patch of dirt and sand east of Bakersfield, California, in wild jalopies and wage epic bungee-battles in a two-story Thunderdome. Continue reading »
Stunning Images From The UK Wildscreen Festival 2016, The Internationally Renowned Festival That Celebrates And Advances The Art Of Natural World Storytelling
The Wildscreen festival is the world’s biggest celebration of screen-based natural history storytelling which takes place every two years in Bristol.
“Bristol Fox”
“At this recognisable landmark in front of the Clifton suspension bridge I found a secluded spot where teenagers like to hang out and local foxes would come to look for leftovers. One night, I was setting up my camera in the early evening and a fox came out of the shadows. It came straight over, looked up at me, then proceeded to try and pinch something from my open camera bag. After that, it walked up this small ridge and I saw the picture I wanted to capture. It took about two weeks of long, cold nights before it looked up at just the right moment”. (Photo by Sam Hobson/Wildscreen 2016) Continue reading »
Glamorous Photos Of Elvis Impersonators At The Elvis Festival
Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
“The Elvies” is an annual gathering of Elvis fans and tribute artists which takes place every September. The event consists of hundreds of shows across 20+ venues in the seaside town of Porthcawl, Wales. Continue reading »
Magical Lantern Festival In London
The festival, to celebrate Chinese New Year 2016 – the Year of the Monkey, uses more than 50 hand-sculpted lanterns and is set to run from Febuary 3 to March 6, 2016. (Photos by Justin Tallis/AFP Photo) Continue reading »
Thousands Of Twins Descend Upon Ohio For The 40th Annual Twins Days Festival
It’s an annual event that attendees spend a year anticipating. And this weekend’s Twins Days, a festival celebrating twins in – where else? – Twinsburg, Ohio, was the biggest jamboree yet. Celebrating its 40th anniversary, the festival had about 2,000 sets of twins turn out, from toddlers to adults. The Twins Days Festival, which began in 1975, is the largest annual gathering of twins and other multiples in the world.
Star Wars fans Nathan and Scott Hasbrook, 24, pose during the 2015 Twins Days Festival in Twinsburg, Ohio (Photo by Dustin Franz/Barcroft) Continue reading »
Stella Artois Limited Edition For Cannes Film Festival
This is something wider, than ordinary limited edition beer packaging. Let us introduce you packvertising – concept, where story and design finally meet each other. Story – is what Stella Artois stands for. And traditionally Stella Artois support Cannes Film Festival. So we show a story happened somewhere in Cannes in 4 parts – a part for each can. Accidents, unexpected twists, chase, drama, beautiful woman, kiss at final and even a helicopter – well, it’s almost a film on cans, actually. But no more words – meet Cannes cans and enjoy Stella Artois. Created by BBDO Ukraine. Continue reading »
Holi – Traditional Festival of Colours in India
A physically challenged Indian child, smeared with gulal-coloured powder, smiles at the camera during Holi celebrations at the Society for the Edcuation of the Crippled school in Mumbai on March 4, 2015. ‘Holi’, the festival of colours, is a riotous celebration of the coming of spring and falls on the day after full moon annually in March. Revellers spray coloured powder and water on each other with great gusto, whilst adults extend the hand of peace. AFP PHOTO / PUNIT PARANJPE (PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP/Getty Images)
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Loi Krathong Festival in Thailand
We are all drawn to fire, entranced by its beauty and ferociousness. Its brilliance draws us in like moths to a candle flame. Thus, many of the celebrations that humans have involve lighting fires. They can be big or small; there could be many little lights or one giant inferno; they may float on water, burn on land, or rise high into the skies. Loi Krathong is a festival that is held each year in Thailand and a number of other places. During this festival thousands of little fires are lighted, presenting a marvelous sight for all the onlookers. It is believed that this tradition is an adaptation of Brahmanical festival, which was adopted by Thai Buddhists to honor Buddha.
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Annual Cold-Endurance Festival in Tokyo
A half-naked shrine parishioner using a wooden tub pours cold water onto himself during an annual cold-endurance festival at the Kanda Myojin Shinto shrine in Tokyo, Saturday, January 10, 2015. Pouring cold water on their bodies is believed to purify their souls. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)
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Bandung Body Art Festival
A tattoo is displayed on the arm of a girl during Bandung Body Art Festival in Bandung, West Java, on December 7, 2014. Upon its establishment in 2010, founders of the Bandung Body Art Festival sought to celebrate an art form that was once taboo and associated with criminals. Tattoos are now an increasingly acceptable part of Indonesia’s urban landscape, and the annual event this year continued its campaign with 45 tattoo artists offering their services for free at the Ganesha Cultural Center. (Photo by Rezza Estily/JG Photo)
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“Toro de Jubilo” – Fire Bull Festival in Medinaceli, Spain
Revelers set a bull’s horns on fire during the “Toro de Jubilo” Fire Bull Festival in Medinaceli, Spain, Sunday, November 16, 2014. The Fire bull Festival “Toro de Jubilo” that takes place in the main square of Medinaceli is an ancient tradition from the bronze age. During the event a bull is tied to a pylon and flammable balls attached to the bull’s horns are set on fire before the animal released. Revelers dodge the bull when it comes close until the flammable material is consumed. The bull is covered with a thick layer of mud on the back and face to protect it from burns. (Photo by Andres Kudacki/AP Photo)
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Highline Festival in Monte Piana: Hammocks Miles above Ground
Doesn’t taking a nap in a hammock outdoors sound lovely? Perhaps not when you’re hanging in the air, thousands of feet above ground, between two mountains in the Italian Alps! Which is exactly what these adventurous folks did during the International Highline Meeting in Monte Piana, Italy.
For this stunt a special highline set up was rigged which could carry the weight of all the people on the line at the same time. In total there were 22 in 16 hammocks on the main line. The line was around 50m above the ground and 50m in distance. The whole action lasted around 2 hours and the people involved were highline athletes attending on the festival. The action took place at around 2200 – 2400 m.a.s.l. and most of the people stayed up on the mountain during the whole festival for a whole week. (Photos by Sebastian Wahlhuetter Photography)
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Wildscreen Photography Festival 2014
From towering elephants to tiny insects, photographers will be offering a rare insight into the natural world at this year’s Wildscreen Photography Festival 2014. The festival, formerly known as WildPhotos, is the UK’s largest wildlife photography show. The Wildscreen Photography Festival 2014 will be taking place between 24-26 October at London’s Royal Geographical Society.
A snorkeller photographing a whale shark as it feeds, Yucatan Peninsular, Mexico. (Photo by Alexander Mustard/Wildscreen Photography Festival 2014)
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Holi Festival in Madrid
Revelers of the Holi Festival of Colors dance after throwing colored powders in the air in Madrid, Spain, Saturday, August 9, 2014. The festival is fashioned after the Hindu spring festival Holi, which is mainly celebrated in the north and east areas of India. (Photos by Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Andres Kudacki/AP Photo) Continue reading »
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2014
The largest performing arts festival in the world has been running for the past three weeks and has enjoyed an increase in venues and visitors compared with previous years. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)
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Sand Sculpture Festival Held in Belgium
Tourists view sand sculptures during the Sand Sculpture Festival in Oostende, Belgium, July 2, 2014. About 150 sculptures created by more than 30 professional sand artists from about 10 countries were shown in the sand sculpture festival which would be held till the end of August. (Photo: Xinhua)
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Glastonbury Festival Clean-up Begins
Photo: Adam Gray / SWNS.com
For the past five days it has been home to some 175,000 people, but today the clean-up operation of Glastonbury Festival 2014 begins.
Highlights of the musical extravaganza have included Dolly Parton, Metallica and Arcade Fire, while Kasabian headlined the Pyramid Stage last night. Campers now have until 6pm to leave the site at Worthy Farm in Pilton, Somerset, while crew and stall holders are given a week to clear their property. Meanwhile, hours before they began to leave, organiser Michael Eavis revealed that the 44-year-old event could have a lifespan of just six more years.
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Israel’s ‘Burning Man’ Festival
For the Bedouin Arab shepherds tending their flocks in Israel’s Negev desert last week, it was almost as if aliens had landed from outer space.
A man looks at a wooden sculpture that was set on fire during Israel’s first Midburn festival, modeled after the popular Burning Man festival held annually in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, in the desert near the Israeli kibbutz of Sde Boker, June 7, 2014. Some 3,000 people set up a colorful encampment in the dusty moonscape, swinging from hoops by day and burning giant wooden sculptures by night. (Photo: AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
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Sydney Vivid Festival
Vivid Sydney is a unique annual event of light, music and ideas, featuring an outdoor ‘gallery’ of extraordinary lighting sculptures, a cutting-edge contemporary music program, some of the world’s most important creative industry forums and, of course, the spectacular illumination of the Sydney Opera House sails. It positions Sydney as the creative hub of Australia and the Asia-Pacific region, and delivers both innovative live entertainment and creative inspiration on a grand scale.
The creative people of the world – from industry professionals to aspiring practitioners to the merely curious – are invited to Sydney annually to watch the city transform into a breathtaking canvas of creative expression. For 18 days, creative practitioners, corporate professionals, families and people of all generations take advantage of Sydney’s mild winter weather and engage with a truly spectacular event.
Sydney’s Vivid winter festival has lit up many of the city’s iconic buildings, bringing light and music to the harbour city. The Opera House is lit up as part of Sydney’s Vivid winter festival.
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Weston-Super-Mare Sand Sculpture Festival in England
Detail of a sand sculpture is seen as pieces are prepared as part of this year’s “Once Upon a Time” themed annual Weston-super-Mare Sand Sculpture festival on April 16, 2014 in Weston-Super-Mare, England. Due to open on Good Friday, a team of award winning sand sculptors from across the globe have been working to create sand sculptures influenced by fairy tales and fables but that also include some current television and cinema blockbuster hits such as The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones and The Hobbit. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
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The 20th Annual Lake Worth Street Painting Festival
The lips of singer Katy Perry, made by Lake Worth Christian School students. (Photo by Greg Lovett/The Palm Beach Post) Continue reading »
Hellfest Festival 2013
Photo by Cesar Hernandez.
Hellfest is an annual music festival which takes place in Clisson, France in mid-June. It is held within the Val de Moine sport complex in Clisson, approximately 35 km south-east of the city of Nantes, and approximately 400 km south-west of the nation’s capital Paris. Billed as an “extreme music festival”, the programme features a variety of heavy metal, hard rock, punk and hardcore act. Continue reading »
International Balloon Festival in Mexico
Balloons take off over the Palote dam during the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Leon, Mexico, Friday, Nov. 15, 2013. More than 200 balloons from different countries participated in this year’s festival. (AP Photo/Mario Armas) Continue reading »
