Far-Fetched Festivals
Let’s be honest, who among us isn’t a little bit interested in watching Finnish air guitar maestros or being drenched in red wine? Read on to find out how you can do just that.
Galway, Ireland (53°01’48.6″N 9°17’23.0″W)
LISDOONVARNA MATCHMAKING FESTIVAL – SEPTEMBER
Billed as Europe’s largest festival for singles, this event – held in the community of Lisdoonvarna, a County Clare town of approximately one thousand villagers – sees the population swell to an enormous 60,000 for the six weeks that the festival takes place.
Pubs hold dances that go all day for the entirety of the festival. It has run for 120 years, and generations of matchmakers descend to set up everything from flings to matrimony.
Trust the Irish to use superstition to find love.
Oulo, Finland (65°00’45.4″N 25°28’17.2″E)
AIR GUITAR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – AUGUST 26-28
With a motto like “make air not war”, there’s no doubt that this is one quirky festival. The best air guitarists have their pick holds and strum moves down pat, but it’s not just air guitar. The whole act is a performance, with clapping, hands in the air and of course, plenty of long hair swaying and head banging.
If you want to do more than watch, the festival also offers training in the niche talent. Who knows, with the right teacher it may be you on the neon-lit stage next year.
Haro, Spain (42°34’36.7″N 2°51’00.8″W)
HARO WINE FESTIVAL – JUNE 28-30
Imagine a large crowd of Spaniards dancing around in rose coloured rain, all courtesy of an army of red wine loaded super-soakers, large kegs, hoses and water guns.
The dress code is all white – the purple hue you will get from being wine drenched is not like anything a fashion house can produce.
The festival is opened by the town mayor at 7am and the red wine imbibing begins. As you can imagine, stamina is not the point of this festival. Come midday, boozed up participants are heading for an afternoon recovery siesta.
Edirne, Turkey (41°40’00.0″N 26°34’00.0″E)
KIRKPINAR OIL WRESTLING FESTIVAL – JUNE 29-JULY 5
Turks wrestling? It doesn’t get more Ottoman than that.
And it’s all on display at this festival, billed to be the oldest annual sporting festival in the world. Greasy wrestlers have been gripping and grappling here since 1346.
The oily participants get smacked down in grassy fields as a tribute to wrestling’s Central Asian origins. The wrestlers wear cowhide pants and if they get ripped, then the wrestlers have officially lost.
Don’t be alarmed by all the head slapping – that’s to disorientate the participants.
Montreux, Switzerland (46°26’09.6″N 6°54’37.0″E)
MONTREUX JAZZ FESTIVAL – JULY 3-18
Montreux is the French Riviera of Switzerland so where better to indulge in some sophisticated jazz? The event runs for two weeks and in that time more than 200,000 people attend.
The location also seals the deal. This part of Switzerland looks like Lake Como and Tuscany’s love child. Lake Geneva laps at hills trellised with grape vines and the language here is Swiss-French.
It’s not all sax and brass however; Bob Dylan came to play one year. As long as you can dance to it, you will hear it at this music festival.
Chios, Greece (38°24’49.3″N 26°07’56.5″E)
ROUKETOPOLEMOS – EASTER
Two churches fire tens of thousands of rockets at each other to celebrate Easter. Enough said. Oh, and did we mention it all takes place on a Greek island?
The two churches are sat on opposite hills, and the fire rockets are made of wood and gunpowder. With 60,000 fired, it makes for a spectacular show the Saturday before Easter Sunday, from dusk until midnight. The aim is to directly hit the church bell, with marks tallied up the next day.
Now that’s Easter entertainment.
Sonkajarvi, Finland (63°40’17.9″N 27°31’19.5″E)
WIFE-CARRYING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS – JULY 3-4
The Finns really punch above their weight when it comes to bizarre festivals. While this competition might seem a nightmare to any bickering married couples, what doesn’t kill you … will make both husband and wife biceps grow.
It’s hard to know who gets the worst end of the deal. The husband for lugging the extra weight, or the wife who must hand upside down, clinging to his waist as she gets dunked in water and mud.
There’s the start of an argument already.
Llanwrtyd Wells, Wales (52°06’27.3″N 3°38’14.7″W)
WORLD BOG SNORKELLING CHAMPIONSHIPS – AUGUST 29
Snorkelling in a field? Totally normal in Wales, as it turns out.
This festival champions all things boggy, and participants snorkel through channels of muddy water and reeds. The bog is 133 metres long and contestants compete for a green frog trophy. Which is appropriate, given that breaststroke is the only permitted style in the narrow channel.
This is another event that classifies as a world championship despite having very few practitioners.
Notting Hill, England (51.5096° N”0.2043° W)
NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL – AUGUST 30-31
If you can pick one weekend to really get under the skin of London, and act like a Londoner, choose the August bank holiday weekend.
Every year, Notting Hill is taken over with a celebration that captures both Caribbean and city culture. With dancers and floats that resemble Rio’s Carnivale, as well as Jamaican jerk chicken stalls and pop-up DJ sets that draws Red Stripe-drinking crowds, you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to downtown Kingston.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
Latest News
Collette goes off the beaten track with Canyon Country tour
To be clear TW is not advocating actually walking off the beaten track. Avoid the coyotes. Stay on the beaten track.
Intrepid & Korean Tourism Organisation team up to give agents a cooking masterclass
These guys learnt that Korean cooking is more than just putting kimchi on 2-minute noodles (as we once thought).
Winner, winner! Intrepid reveals the 9 lucky agents that won $2k
Who won the incentive? Which Intrepid trip will they spend it on? What day of the week is it again? Where am I? Huh?
Corporate Traveller reports 42% increase in Easter traffic this year
Business travellers just love Easter! Expect plenty of chocolate stained documents returning to the office on Tuesday.
Turbulent year wiped $384m off Qantas brand value: Report
Meanwhile, eating tuna at your desk can damage your own personal office brand value by several thousand dollars.
FAMIL: Room-Res & Singapore Tourism Board shows agents the Lion City’s roar
Click this article to see a man very impressed by a 20-layer chocolate cake. We're not kidding, he loved it!
Oceania Cruises offers sailors free pre-cruise hotel stay
Looking for ways to make your holidays as long as possible? Look no further.
Bonza launches new website to compliment app, agent portal
Does news about an airline's website fill you with ecstasy, glee and joy? Get your hit of the good stuff here.
MTA agents attends ‘Lunch ‘n’ Learn’ with AMA Waterways
When organising the event, Lunch 'n' Learn beat out Dinner 'n' Divulge and Breakfast 'n' Banter. Understandably so.
Travelmarvel reveals 2025 South America tours
If you spot any typos in the newsletter today it is because TW became distracted Googling images of Machu Picchu.
Tourists from 5 countries could be BANNED from visiting Australia
Anthony Albanese's immigration laws could impact tourism from certain countries.
Just how many passengers will Qantas & Jetstar hop around this Easter?
Airline workers are ready for gleeful Easter travellers! Also prepared for sticky children with chocolate on their face.
Air New Zealand gets ready for bumper Easter weekend
Air NZ gears up for travelling passengers this Easter, while TW looks to beat our egg eating record. 117 here we come!
Four Seasons Yachts reveals first itineraries to the Caribbean & Mediterranean
These trips look so good we wish there were five seasons! Alright, we'll see ourselves out...
FAMIL: Travellers Choice treats top agents to the wonders of Rotorua
This one's got plenty of famil pics and no one looks shockingly hungover in them! Clearly no TW staffers were there.
European Waterways celebrates 50th anniversary with week-long founders cruise
Plan on celebrating your 50th anniversary with a bottle of Moët and fairy bread? European Waterways has better ideas.
100th route! Jetstar celebrates the launch of Brisbane-Avalon with 12 hour sale
Jetstar knocks a ton and celebrates with a sale while TW once scored a ton and celebrated with about 17 beers.
Record-breaking year for NSW as visitor expenditure soars past $50 billion
Enjoy running round the Opera House? Be prepared to elbow even more tourists out the way.
Norwegian Cruise Line makes play for solo travellers
NCL ensuring you don't have to go trawling Tinder to find a cruise partner. Thank goodness, we were sick of catfishing.
Entire Travel Group’s Canada and Europe 2024/25 brochures are out now
Entire's new brochure is bittersweet; it both informs your clients and makes you envious of the holiday they'll take.
Malaysia Airlines adds 3 new destinations & A330neo seats
More seats means cheaper airfares and more money to spend on overpriced airport sandwiches. Woohoo!
Two divine days onboard Crystal Serenity
It's only pure serenity onboard this ship. Anxiety, agitation and anguish have been rejected by the bouncer.
How the Globus Family of Brands elevates coach touring: Travel Weekly TV with Chris Fundell
Chris' here so you don't think coaches mean peeling your thighs off a sticky leather seat every time you stand up!
The Flight Centre Foundation gears up for massive 2024 with 3 new board members
The foundation looks to invest $200k this year, spurring the TW journos to figure out how to qualify as a charity.
Barking Owl Communications to head up Anantara & Avani in ANZ
Fellow PR competitors had been barking up the wrong tree even thinking of bidding for this job!
Amex GBT to purchase CWT for $871m
It's big deals like this that get a firm handshake - hence the sore hands over at the CWT and Amex GBT offices.
1000MTG’s second global conference reminds agents to ‘strive and thrive’
Alongside messages to 'strive' and 'thrive' were those to 'survive', 'drive', 'arrive' and 'jive' (when appropriate).
Qantas A330 makes “loud bang”, pilots forced to shut down one engine
Qantas refusing to let Boeing have all the headlines in aviation world today!
GX Community Tourism Summit 2024 location revealed!
The new location has arrived and it'll blow your socks off! Time for another trip to Target for more socks then.
Visiting the destination my Mum didn’t want me to
Yet again, this journo has been a stress to his mother. Discover how this trip spurred his mother's anxiety here.
Agents come out of their shells at P&O’s turtle hatchery event
For some, it's a few glasses of bubbles to lure them out of their shell. For these agents, it was a bit more literal.
Boeing cleanout: CEO, chair to go as safety crisis plagues the manufacturer
CEOs are falling thick and fast these days. We should have started up a bingo game with their headshots in the office.
Virgin looks to swap MAX 10 order for MAX 8s amid Boeing delays: Reports
Virgin has changed its order for something smaller. Much like we have to at Maccas following a worrying doctor's visit.
Club Med unveils newest luxury yacht for 2024/25 early bird sale
This yacht is preserved for the early birds! Night Owls may also get onboard depending how late they stay up.
Abercrombie & Kent 2024 Asia Portfolio is here
Round up the family and get planning an Asia jaunt. Or, if they're hard to handle, brush them all and go it alone!
Elevate your earnings: Final days to secure double commission with Inspiring Vacations’ March offer
What could inspire you to sell more Inspiring Vacations? Double commission of course! That's all the inspiration needed.