January
1^st Jan New Years Day Parade – London Parliament Square - 10 000 performers in the biggest parade in the world. www.londonparade.co.uk,2^nd UK bank holiday, 5^th English Schools Open, 25^th  - 16 Feb Chinese New Year Celebrations Chinatown, San Francisco www.chineseparade.com 27^th Chinese New Year Parade – Leicester Square, London.

February
The European Carnival period leads up to Lent, which begins Ash Wednesday, the 25^th. Events include the Mardi Gras in Nice, France 8-27^th, in Switzerland the biggest party towns are Lucerne and Basel, in Italy, Venice hosts the world-famous Carnivale with its masked balls. 21^st- 24^th Rio Carnival, Brazil.

March
13-17^th St Patrick’s Festival - Dublin, 6-9^th Crufts Dog Show. Birmingham England, 16^th - 19^th Valencia's biggest festival with 2 million revellers, Las Fallas, Spain, 16^th  Budapest Spring Festival - Hungary’s largest cultural festival, with ten other cities, 17^th St Patrick's Day Parade - New York, 19^th Up Helly Aa – Traditional Viking Fire festival, Shetland Islands, UK. www.shetland-tourism.co.uk , 28^th 4.30pm depending on tides….Oxford v Cambridge University Boat Race www.theboatrace.org - Hammersmith, London, 29^th start of British Summer Time 1am turn clocks forward to 2am.

April
1^st - 3^rd Grand National Horse Racing Festival - Aintree, Liverpool, Go see the latest expo at the Victoria and Albert Museum - www.vam.ac.uk 9^th Good Friday, 12^th Easter Monday, 13^th - 15^th Songkran Festival - water throwing ceremonies all over Thailand, 13^th London Marathon www.london-marathon.co.uk 21^st Royal 41 and 62 gun salute for the Queens birthday, Hyde Park and Tower of London 25 April ANZAC Day Gallipoli, Turkey

May
1^st - 3^rd May, Spirit of Speyside: Scotland’s Whiskey festival, Elgin Scotland www.spiritofspeyside.com, 1^st -4^th Badmngton Horse trials, Badmington
www.badminton-horse.co.uk 3^rd May bank holiday UK, 3^rd – 25^th Brighton International Arts Festival, Brighton UK, 12^th-23^rd  Cannes Film Festival, France, 6^{th -}9^th Bantry Mussel Fair - Ireland, 12^th National Windmill Day - Netherlands (really?) 15 – 19^th Royal Windsor Horse Show, Windsor, UK. 17^th FA Cup final – Millennium Stadium Cardiff, 24^th Carnaval San Francisco's version of Mardi Gras, www.carnavalsf.com 24 -27^th  Monaco Grand Prix, 27-28^th Chelsea Flower Show - London, 28 -June 10^th, French Open tennis championship - Paris, 30^th Spring bank holiday UK.

June
9 - 27th Spitalfields Festival, Liverpool St tube, London, 15^th Trooping the Colour, the Queens birthday parade – London, 15^th - 19^th Royal Ascot - Berkshire, 24^th - 7^th July Wimbledon Tennis Championships – London, 26^th Berlins Christopher Street Day - a 400 000 turnout street festival Berlin, Germany Glastonbury Music Festival , Glastonbury - UK www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk

July
2 - 19th July Harrods Sale, London, www.harrods.com 3^rd– 10^th Pamplona Running of the Bulls, Pamplona, Spain. 6 - 28^th Tour De France www.letour.fr 11^th Formula 1 Grand Prix of Great Britain, 12^th Love Parade - Berlin, Germany. Wild jam-packed rave set in Ku’damm, one of Berlin’s busiest streets. The original Love Parade, www.loveparade.net  14^th Bastille Day – France, 14^th -21^st Surf Festival. Biarritz - France, www.biarritzsurffestival.com14- 31^st  (weekends) International Fireworks Festival. Cannes France, 15th Scottish Highland Games, Inveraray, erm, Scotland...18-20 July British Grand Prix, Silverstone 19-22^nd British Open golf championship Lytham St. Anne's England, 19^th -21st Splash Festival  21^st -29^th Castle Festival. Eger Hungary - The Middle Ages are revived, with an archery competition, duels, medieval banquets, artisans, music, theatre and dance, 21^st July – 2^nd August Royal Tournament - Earls Court, 24^th Mobile Phone Throw Savonlinna Finland - A new competition in the country with the highest cell-phone usage in Europe, 24-29^th Rose of Tralee Festival Tralee Ireland Celebration of the art of being Irish.

August
1^st  – 23^rd Edinburgh Military Tattoo www.edintattoo.co.uk 1 -3rd Cardiff, Wales Big Weekend Festival, a free extravaganza of funfair, dance parties and music, 5^th to 29^th Buckingham Palace opens for summer season - London. 5 - 9th August Great British Beer Festival Olympia, London, www.camra.org.uk 3^rd – 25^th  Edinburgh Fringe Festival www.edfringe.com, 10^th – 31^st  Edinburgh International Festival, 10^th Street Parade - Zurich Switzerland. Lovers of New Age and Techno crowd the lakeshore. 16^th - 28^th  Galway Arts Festival - Ireland. Emerald Isle’s largest arts fest. 23^rd August Bank Holiday, UK, 27^th La Tomatina (Tomato Festival) Bunyol, Spain, 90 000 tomatoes 20 000 punters… 25^th – 1^st September Burning Man www.burningman.com - Black Rock Desert USA, 24^th - 25^th Notting Hill Carnival – London www.nottinghillcarnival.org.uk

September
1^st  Volvo Ocean Race. Southampton (England). The month long round-the-world yacht race begins, , 2-9^th National Heritage Week Ireland - Hundreds of events, from lectures to recitals to pageants, across the country, 12-15th Heritage Open Days England, about 2000 historic or unusual buildings rarely open to tourists will admit the public free of charge www.heritageopendays.org , 13^th - 15^th Thames Festival London - Free programme of arts, sports, river-themed events, fireworks & torchlit procession, www.thamesfestival.org/ 20 Sep - 5 October Oktoberfest Munich, Germany - PROST!
26 - 29^th St Albans beer festival, Hertfordshire - over 220 ales to sample, 29^th Formula 1 Grand Prix of Belgium Francor-Champs (read about Adrian who drove a F1 on this course).

October
6^th Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, Paris - Prestigious horse race at the Longchamp track. 8-10^th  Pelhrimov Festival of Records, Curiosities and Beer - Czech Republic for fans of the bizarre and fans of Czech beer,
19 -November 4^th Budapest Autumn Festival - A showcase for experimental artists in all genres from Europe and around the world. 21^st  -25^th English School mid-term break. 26^th Oct – 1^st Nov International Scotch Whisky Festival - Edinburgh, Scotland. 28^th Dublin City Marathon, Ireland, www.dublincitymarathon.ie, 31^st End of British Summertime - turn clocks back one hour, 31^st Halloween

November
5^th Guy Fawkes Day, celebrations all over England, 9^th Lord Mayors Parade - London, 22^nd Thanksgiving Day USA, 28^th Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade New York

December
1st 6.30pm Christmas Lights lit Trafalgar Square, London, 10 - 23rd Spitalfields Winter Festival, Liverpool St tube/BR, London, 20^th English Schools Close 31^st Hogmanay – Edinburgh, Scotland.

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