Summer celebrations from around the world to inspire your events calendar
These global cultural celebrations from the summer months should give you plenty of inspo for your upcoming events calendar.
The summer season sees a plethora of amazing celebrations and traditions take place across the globe. Learning about these can give you much-needed inspiration as an event planner. Perhaps you’re part of a PTA and always looking for interesting themes for your next fundraiser. Or maybe you’re a community event planner looking for ideas for your next cultural festival.
Whatever your event planning goals, we’re sure you’ll find plenty of intriguing and exciting inspiration in this quick round-up of summer celebrations from around the world 🌍.
Dragon Boat Festival, China
Between late May to late June
This traditional Chinese holiday happens annually on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar. Celebrated for over 2000 years, the vibrant celebration centres around epic dragon boat races, using beautifully decorated boats between 40 to 100 feet long. In 2009, the holiday was added to the UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage list!
Pride, Global
The month of June
Pride dates back to 1970, when the first ever Pride marches took place on 28th June in the USA, one year after the Stonewall Uprising. Fast-forward to today, and Pride events take place around the globe, celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, and spreading messages of peace, love and acceptance. Parades usually involve a technicolour amalgamation of floats, costumes, rainbow decorations and music 🌈 🫶.
💫 Inspiration from the Ticket Tailor community
We love the sound of this epic Pride afterparty in London’s West End. Held at the sprawling Piano Works, the event will see a mix of incredible DJs and dance troupes entertain the crowd to a backdrop of the best queer anthems, house music, RnB, Afrobeats, and hip-hop 🙌.
Tip: Find out more about how to support and celebrate Pride as an event creator.
Feast of Sant Joan, Barcelona
23rd-24th June
Each summer solstice the streets of Barcelona come alive. Celebrations begin on the 23rd June, and a feast of epic proportions takes place on the 24th. The night in-between – the night of San Joan – comes alight with bonfires and fireworks. The idea is that from this night on, the sun (a sign of fertility and wealth) begins to drop after reaching its highest point. So it must be given strength from the fires, fireworks and celebrations that take over the streets of Barcelona!
Midsummer, Scandinavia
Various dates, June
Summer solstice is celebrated with official holidays in both Sweden and Finland, where people come together to enjoy festivities that are steeped in tradition. The Midsummer celebration dates back many hundreds of years, with pagan themes that involve collecting flowers, banishing evil spirits, and promoting good fortune and healing. Today, celebrations often centre around these same traditions – with participants also enjoying beer, schnapps and traditional Scandinavian food.
Independence Day, United States
4th July
Independence Day – also often simply called the Fourth of July – celebrates the United States’ declaration of independence which took place on 4th July 1776. Today, celebrations usually revolve around family barbeques and picnics, colourful parades and, of course, brilliant fireworks displays! 🎆
Bastille Day, France
14th July
For over a hundred years, the French have commemorated the storming of the Bastille on 14th July 1789. English speaking countries refer to this event as Bastille Day, but in France it’s referred to as Fête Nationale Française – or the National Day of France. Today, the date is commemorated with lively celebrations as well as a spectacular military parade on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
💫 Inspiration from the Ticket Tailor community
This Bastille Day concert in Wisconsin, US, sounds beyond atmospheric. The evening will see three incredible performances take place from Vincent d'Indy (Flute, Violin, Viola, Cello, and Harp), Charles Bordes (Flute and String Quartet), and Claude Debussy (String Quartet). In the true style of the French, audience members will sample various wines throughout the event – with wine pairings being made to go specifically with the music.
Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival, Tokyo
Last Saturday of July
The Sumidagawa Fireworks Festival sees one of Japan’s most famous fireworks displays erupt in the sky over the Sumida River. The event takes place on the last Saturday of every July, where the country's best pyrotechnical teams compete with each other to see who can create the most incredible fireworks displays, drawing in crowds of epic proportions!
Krishna Janmashtami, India
11th August
This annual Hindu festival celebrates the birth of Krishna – the eighth avatar of Vishnu. The two-part event is one of the biggest and most historical holidays in India. One of its key rituals involves devotees building swings inside their homes on which to place idols of the gods. These are then bathed in milk, honey, and jewellery. Devotees also observe a day-long fast before coming together for a delicious feast!
Edinburgh Fringe, Scotland
Three weeks in August
Edinburgh Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival, and sees around 50,000 performances take place across 300 Edinburgh venues each year. Featuring everything from comedians to circus acts, cabarets to art exhibitions – this exciting celebration of art and culture truly brings the city to life for around three full weeks every August. The event dates back to 1947, when eight theatre groups turned up at the Edinburgh International Festival, despite being uninvited. Needless to say, the lack of an invite didn’t stop them – they simply performed on the ‘fringes’ of the festival, hence the name today!
Tip: Discover low-cost, stress-free comedy club ticketing with Ticket Tailor.
Yi Torch Festival, China
August
Each August, the Yunnan province of China sees the streets light up (literally) with one of China’s grandest celebrations. Families across the region light torches to illuminate the corners of their homes, and to walk around the fields with. And larger torches are lit across city centres, too; it’s thought to ward off bad luck for the community. As well as the key event of lighting the torch, the festival also involves lots of fun activities, like wrestling, horse racing, and contests.
La Tomatina, Spain
Last Wednesday of August
When it comes to summer traditions and celebrations, it doesn’t get much more bizarre than Spain's La Tomatina. On the last Wednesday of every August, around 20,000 people from around the globe come together in the town of Buñol for what’s thought to be the world’s biggest food fight. Only tomatoes are thrown – but lots of them. About 120 metric tons, in fact! In the run-up to the food fight, a week-long celebration takes place, involving fun parades and plenty of delicious paella.
(Don’t worry – the tomatoes used are extremely ripe and soft, so there’s no risk of serious injury!)
Ready to plan your next cultural event?
Planning events based around cultural themes is a great way to educate, inspire, and bring communities together. Whether you’re looking to host a local fundraiser or full-blown festival, Ticket Tailor can help. Our event registration platform is packed full of useful features – like our free check-in app, customisable box office pages, and unlimited ticket types. Plus, we’re one of the cheapest ticketing platforms around thanks to our simple, flat-fee pricing structure 😌.
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