Sitges Carnival Celebrates 40th Anniversary

Sitges Heats Up in FEBRUARY 2015 for annual carnival celebrations.

This year Sitges Carnival will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary. The carnival has been held without interruption in its present form, each year since 1976 where it began as “el Carnaval de la Democràcia” – The Carnival of Democracy. However, the Carnival tradition dates back much further with the oldest document relating to Sitges Carnival dating from the 15th century.

This year the carnival will attract an estimated 300,000 visitors and will feature 2,500 people on more than 50 floats. You can follow all of the action on Facebook and Twitter via #SitgesCarnaval15

CENA SHOW MANTILLA 2015
Carnival kicks off with the Mantillas Pre dinner show at L'Angle

NOCHE DE LA MANTILLA 2015
The traditional starting night of the gay Carnival on Tue 10th Feb at Parrots & Comodin

PARROTS PUB CARNAVAL MINIONS 2015
Parrots pub will be at the heart of all the Carnival Action

BUKKAKE CARNAVAL 2015
Cruise and be Cruised nightly at Bukkake!

LE PATIO CAULIFLOWER CARNAVAL 2015
A french inspired series of evenings at Le Patio.

GETTING TO SITGES for Carnival 2015

45,000 additional seats will be added to the Barcelona to Sitges train route as well as high frequency buses throughout the event. On the Monday and Wednesday mornings, trains will furn from 01.29H every 20 minutes. Buses will run every 30 minutes, from 23.30 to 05.40 for the duration of the carnival.

International visitors traveling from Barcelona or the Airport should check out out Getting To Sitges section for detailed information.

THURSDAY (Dijous Gras) 12th of February

Arrival of the King!
7.30pm. The King of Carnival will arrive at La Fragata and make his way in procession via the seafront on Psg Ribera to the corner of the Sports Bar/Subur Hotel, where he will wait for the arrival of the Queen of Carnival.
Arrival of the Queen
8pm – The Queen of Carnival will arrive with her entourage (The Carrusel Group) and then make her way through the village vial Paseo Ribera, C.Bonaire, C. Parellades, Cap de la Vila and ending at the Town Hall, Plaça de l’Ajuntament.
The Predicot
9.15pm the King of carnival will take over responsibility for the Village via the “Predicot” – the reading of his manifesto, Plaça de l’Ajuntament.

1

FRIDAY 13th February

1

The Grand Venetian Ball
From 7pm until 11pm, The “GRAN GALA DE VENÈCIA 2015” will take place at the Palau de Maricel de Sitges.
Dress Code
Directed by Giorgio Manni, this charity event aims to evoke the style and sophistication of the Venice Carnival. The event will be black-tie or venetian dress and will be the first masked ball of the Carnival season.
Tickets
Space is limited, for ticket information contact the Hotel Platjador

SATURDAY 14th February

The bed race or CURSA DE LLITS DISFRESSATS DE SITGES as it is known, is one of the craziest, most colourful races you will ever experience. People in various types of costume (think a Camp Meets Carnival) race beds, or anything with wheels, through the streets of Sitges!

At 12, noon the annual “Bed Race” will make its way through the steets of Sitges, via the following route; Casino Prado, Francesc Gumà, Jesús, Cap de la Vila, Parellades, Sant Pau, Passeig de la Ribera, Sant Pere, Parellades, Bonaire i Passeig de la Ribera finishing at Restaurant Eguzki Lizarran, the event sponsor.

If you are looking for the ideal spot to see the best of the race action, head to the corner of C.Bonaire. You will notice all of the bales of hay! These are the crash barriers that protect the racing participants as they whizz round the corners of the narrow streets in a race to get to the finish line!

1

SUNDAY 15th February – Main parade – RUA DE LA DISBAUXA (The Debauchery Parade)

1

The Main Parade
Sunday is one of the biggest days of the Carnival festivities. The main parade takes place from 8pm.
Parade Route
Cap de la Vila, Parellades, Bonaire, Passeig de la Ribera fins a La Fragata, turning at Passeig de la Ribera, Avinguda Sofia, Mossèn Llopis Pi, Plaça del Pou Vedre, Espalter, Sant Francesc and ending once again at Cap de la Vila.
Our Top Tips
This year there are bleachers at the corner of Fragata where you can see the entire parade on free seats! But get there early. They will fill fast. Plan your night in advance. You should grab your spot before 8pm to see the parade, but be prepared to wait. The main parade can take several hours to get through he streets. Head to your chosen gay bar party before the parade ends, so as to avoid the mad rush of people once everything finishes!

TUESDAY 16th February – Main parade – RUA DE L’EXTERMINI (The Extermination Parade)

The Second Parade
On Tuesday things get a little crazier as the Carnival nears the end of its journey! The parade kicks off once again at 8pm.
Parade Route
Cap de la Vila, Parellades, Bonaire, Passeig de la Ribera fins a La Fragata, turning at pel Passeig de la Ribera, avinguda Sofia, Mossèn Llopis Pi, Plaça del Pou Vedre, Espalter, Sant
Francesc and finishing again at Cap de la Vila.
Top Tips
Its a little (although not by much) quieter on the Tuesday night v’s the Sunday night parade. If you managed to catch some of the Sunday parade, then head out a little later to see some of the floats you might have missed!

1

WEDNESDAY 17th February – The Last Goodbye & The Burial of the King!

1

At 7 pm the traditional “Burial of the Sardine” (ENTERRRO DE LA SARDINA) takes place with the death of the Carnival king and his procession through the town via the following route, Major, Cap de la Vila, Parellades, Bonaire, Passeig de la Ribera and finishing at La Fragata.

At 8 pm the last will and testament of the King will be read and the carnival will be officially closed in a spectacular Farewell Ceremony! Althoughh the death of the king is a sad affair, the event is beautifully choreographed! The king’s many “widows” are battle it out to be the most “mournful”. Many of the most famous windows will be dressed in Drag! Once the event concludes, its on to the bars and clubs for the “Widows Night”.

Special Dinners take place with aperitifs taking place at Parrots Pub and Locacola followed by a superb dinner at Le Patio.