Robert HardingGawai Dayak is a festival celebrated by the Dayaks, the native people of Borneo, that will take place this weekend in Sarawak. Festival goers dress […]
Category: Culture
Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer Gypsy Pilgrimage
Over the weekend Roma Gypsies from across Europe flocked to the small fishing village of Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer in the Camargue region of Provence to worship their patron Saint, Sara with horse […]
Sydney in lights
Vivid Sydney is an amazing event featuring giant light projections that transform the city’s buildings. It is held annually in May and June. Sydney Opera […]
Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling
Every Spring Bank Holiday one of England’s most eccentric festivals is held: the Cooper’s Hill Cheese Rolling. Competitors chase a round 9lb Gloucester cheese down a hill, […]
Sanja Matsuri
Sanja Matsuri is a wild and wonderful Shinto festival in which ornate shrines called Mikoshi are carried through the streets of Tokyo surrounded by enthusiastic crowds […]
Seville Fair
Throughout this week the Feria de Abril (Seville Fair) fills this beautiful Andalucian town with music, dancing and spectacular horse parades. The fair takes place two weeks after […]
Beltane – Celtic May Day
Beltane, or Celtic Mayday, marks the beginning of summer. It is a fertility ritual that was performed by pre-Christian Britons while accompanying the herds into […]
Holland’s new King’s Day
Every April Holland has celebrated Queen’s Day by holding flee markets and parties and dressing up in orange, the national colour. This year though, Queen’s […]
Holy Week processions
During Holy Week in Spain, Catholic brotherhoods take to the streets to perform solemn processions, often dressed in striking (and quite scary-looking) robes with hoods, originating from medieval penitents’ […]
Songkran festival
Songkran is Thailand’s New Year’s Day festival, celebrated on the 13th to the 15th April and co-inciding with other New Year’s celebrations across South and Southeast […]
Cherry blossom parties
During spring, people gather all over Japan to have picnics and gatherings under the cherry blossom, a custom called Hanami. Symbolising the fleeting nature of […]
Vernal equinox at Chichen Itza
Today is the vernal equinox, the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere, when night and day are of almost equal length all over the […]
Las Fallas festival
Sculptors have been working for many months in the Spanish city of Valencia to create fallas – elaborate figures propped on architectural monuments several stories high. […]
Holi festival of colours
Holi is a Hindu celebration of the end of winter. It is celebrated throughout India and Nepal, although copycat events are held all over the […]
The scary masks of Fastnacht
Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, is the last day before Lent and the culmination of vibrant carnivals across the world. Whilst Rio might win the […]
Novice monks
Novice monks at the Full Moon Festival in Bagan, Myanmar (also known as Burma), by Lynn Gail. According to the proportion of monks in the population […]
Carnival in South America
It’s carnival time in Latin America and some of the best street parties in the world are kicking off this week. We picked our favourite photos […]
Venice in pictures
What better time to visit Venice now that masked carnival goers are transforming this already amazing place. In the weeks leading up to Lent, masked […]
Viareggio Carnival in pictures
It’s carnival season and one of the most spectacular and celebrated parades in Europe, the carnival of Viareggio in Tuscany, is in full swing (running […]
Sami people
Today is Sami National Day, a day of celebration and recognition of the Sami people, an indigenous community who live across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland […]
Chinese New Year of the Horse
Tomorrow marks Chinese New Year, when people around the world come out onto the streets to enjoy dragon dancers, lanterns, parades and fireworks, welcoming in […]
Up Helly Aa
Up Helly Aa festival celebrates Norse traditions in Shetland, Scotland on the last Tuesday in January every year. Locals in viking inspired costumes march through town […]
Tamborrada Festival
At midnight on the 19th January every year, the city of San Sebastian comes alive with the sound of drums, which continue to be played […]
Timkat Festival in pictures
Colourful Timkat festival is the Orthodox Ethiopian celebration of Epiphany, that takes place every 19th January. We chose some of our favourite photos of the ceremony […]
Harbin Ice Festival
The city of Harbin in northern China is known for its harsh winters. But the town makes a feature of the cold climate with its […]
Voodoo Festival
Every January thousands of Beninese flock to the town of Ouidah for the annual Voodoo Festival. Some 40% of the population of the West African […]
Black Nazarene
Every 9th of January a life-sized sculpture of Jesus called the ‘Black Nazarene’ is taken through the streets of Manila, the Philippines, in a procession. Several million devotees attend […]
Happy New Year
Happy New Year to one and all! New Year fireworks and Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London (Frank Fell/Robert Harding)
Happy Christmas
Out There wishes you a great Christmas! Here is one of our favourite seasonal photos of Lillehammer in Norway. Could it be more perfect with the moon, […]
German nutcracker dolls
This photo by Stuart Black shows slightly scary wooden nutcracker dolls sold in a Berlin Christmas market. The dolls have long been associated with the […]
Festival of the Sahara
Every year in late December thousands flock to the desert oasis town of Douz in southern Tunisia, for the country’s oldest and best known festival. […]
Winter Solstice at Stonehenge
Each year on Winter Solstice (the 21st December) visitors gather together with some of England’s Druid, Pagan and Wiccan groups to witness the sunrise at […]
Europe’s best Christmas markets
What better than the twinkling lights and delicious treats of a Christmas market to stoke up the festive spirit? While many of the largest and […]
Whirling Dervishes Festival
This week, thousands gather in the ancient Turkish city of Konya to watch the annual Whirling Dervish Festival. Whirling Dervishes are ascetic Muslims of a […]
Miss Rodeo America Pageant
In pictures Every December Las Vegas plays host to a unique competition in which state rodeo queens battle it out for the crown of Miss […]
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
Every Thanksgiving, US chain store Macy’s puts on a parade through the centre of Manhattan with giant balloons depicting popular characters that have included Spiderman, […]
Tori-No-Ichi
Tori-No-Ichi is a traditional festival held on Japan on various days in November (known as days of the rooster). Festival goers visit ornate Otori shrines […]
Surin Elephant Festival
Every November, elephant handlers in Surin, Thailand, show off their skills by leading their animals in a procession, games of football and tugs of war. […]
Pushkar Camel Fair
In pictures Every year the Indian town of Pushkar in Rajisthan holds a five day camel fair, one of the world’s largest livestock fairs, which […]
Guy Fawkes Night – Then and Now
Tonight Guy Fawkes Night takes over many parks and public spaces across Britain, as people build bonfires and create impressive firework displays. Nigel Francis/Robert Harding
Day of the Dead
On the 31st of October and the 1st and 2nd of November, people in Mexico and other cultures around the world gather to pray for […]
Jidai Matsuri Festival
A photographic tour The Jidai Matsuri, or Festival of Ages, is a spectacular celebration of Japan’s history that takes place in Kyoto and Tokyo every 22nd October. Participants dress […]
Thimphu Tsechu Festival
A photographic tour Thimphu Tsechu is one of the spectacular Buddhist temple festivals held every year around October in the remote mountainous country of Bhutan, […]
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
A photographic tour New Mexico’s spectacular annual hot air balloon festival is now under way. The nine day event is the largest event of its […]
Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival
A photographic tour Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival – starting at the end of this week – perhaps ranks among the strangest in the world. Held over […]
Oktoberfest
A photographic tour of the world’s largest fair The 180th Oktoberfest kicked off this weekend. This huge party – usually hosting more than 6 million […]
Festes de la Merce
A photographic tour of Barcelona’s most extravagant street festival Barcelona’s spectacular La Mercè Festival – the city’s largest street party – kicks off at the […]