Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife

The festival has 2 sides: an official carnival involving more than a hundred groups, and a looser street carnival in which most revellers wear a disguise. The organisers' own history page describes it as the most international festive occasion of the island's capital, sustained each year by an association movement of almost 10,000 people.

The 2027 edition is confirmed for 22 January to 28 February, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, Spain. It is run by the Entidad Pública Empresarial Fiestas de Santa Cruz, part of the city council.

Access is expected to work in 2 ways, though this is not yet confirmed. Galas and contests, such as the election of the Queen, need tickets bought in advance, while parades, concerts and street parties are expected to be free and open to everyone.

The Carnival Queen is chosen at a gala in which the candidates parade in elaborate costumes. The carnival's contests and galas are usually held at the Recinto Ferial in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

In 1987 the carnival entered the Guinness records for the largest public turnout at an open-air dance, according to its own history page. The record was made possible by Celia Cruz and more than 200,000 people.

Under the dictatorships of Primo de Rivera and Franco, the carnival was held under the name "Winter holiday" to get round a ban, and it still went ahead in the city.

Every year's carnival has had its own poster since 1962, with designs by artists including César Manrique and Javier Mariscal. A museum about the carnival, the Casa del Carnaval, opened in the city in 2017.