Latin American Passion with a Dutch twist
Summer Carnival is one of the biggest festivals in the Netherlands, with nearly one million visitors yearly! Every year the streets in Rotterdam come alive with the Latin-American sounds and smells. This colourful and musical event is an offshoot of the Carnival in Latin-America and is a melting pot of various cultural and musical genres. The Caribbean music will make you swing for sure, especially during the Street Parade closing event with more than 2300 dancers from 23 different countries!

Summer Carnival Queen Election
The Summer Carnival starts off one week before the Street Parade with an official Queen Election. A jury and the public select the Summer Carnival Queen from many candidates. The Queen has to be representative, knowledgeable about the festival and the cultural inheritance, but above all she must be a great dancer to the Caribbean music! The Summer Carnival Queen will be the main character in the Street Parade at Saturday and will be the upcoming year’s ambassador of the festival.

Battle of Drums Summer Carnival Rotterdam
The opening ceremony takes place on Friday evening. Selected brass bands participate in a brass band competition, named the Battle of Drums. They tour from different locations in Rotterdam to get together with a big show at Coolsingel. The winners may call themselves the official Summer Carnival Brass Band and earn a prominent spot in the Parade on Saturday.

Street Parade Summer Carnival Rotterdam
During the Street Parade on Saturday many brass bands and thousands of dancers are swinging and singing through the streets of Rotterdam. Big carnival trucks play loud music, so nobody is going to overhear the music! On Friday and Saturday, two live stages host live musicians and Latin DJ’s at Coolsingel and Churchillplein until late in the evening.

Tropical food and drinks
Besides music and dance, Summer Carnival is all about tropical food and drinks from Latin America. At Coolsingel , Rotterdam’s epicentre, you can buy all kinds of tropical food and drinks with hundreds of food stalls. Try Roti or Bara, for example. You don't have to fly to Rio de Janeiro to enjoy pulsating Carnival: visit the Summer Carnival in Rotterdam and experience a real Caribbean weekend!