- EDITIONS: Spanish News Today Murcia Today Alicante Today
ARCHIVED - Cadiz Carnival pushed back to June due to Covid
The annual festivities in Cádiz (Andalucía) are normally held in February
The Town Hall in Cádiz has announced their decision to delay the 2022 annual carnival, moving the festivities from February to June next year.
Local authorities are also going to ask the regional government to move the local bank holiday to June 13, to allow residents to fully enjoy the carnival, which is scheduled to take place between June 9 and 19.
The Official Competition of Carnival Groups (COAC) is also going to be moved back and will be held just after Easter, around April 25.
Representatives from the Town Hall have explained that the decision is based on the Andalusian coronavirus restrictions and the vaccination campaign, and in theory there will be little to no Covid measures in Andalucía in June since the regioanl government is once again relaxing current restrictions as of tomorrow. By June, it is projected that revellers should be able to enjoy the carnival with as much freedom as in the years before the pandemic.
Another factor is the possibility of a sixth wave of coronavirus just after Christmas, which would have jeopardised the carnival in February.
As for the Official Competition of Carnival Groups (COAC), of which the semi-final marks the beginning of the Carnival in Cádiz, the Town Hall has stated that, if the contest were to go ahead in February as usual, the teams would need to start rehearsing now, which isn’t viable in the current sanitary situation as the teams would need to gather together in confined indoor spaces to begin preparing for the competition.
The Cádiz Carnival, which dates back to the XVII century, is one of the biggest and most emblematic in Spain and has even been declared an ‘Item of International Tourist Interest’ and a BIC (‘Asset of Cultural Tourist Interest’).
During the week-long festivities, large groups of locals in disguise show off their, sometimes satirical, costumes across the city and the streets of Cádiz are filled with both residents and visiting tourists.
Images: Ayuntamiento de Cádiz