Los Cristianos Carnival 2023 - Dates & Full schedule of Events

The International Carnival of Los Cristianos returns to the streets after three years with Japan as the main theme.

Although the most popular carnival on the island is the one in Santa Cruz, many other towns and resorts celebrate their own carnivals, since Tenerife is a year-round tourist destination and any reason to have a party is happily accepted by everyone. 

Los Cristianos carnival is the second most important carnival in Tenerife, after the Carnival in Santa Cruz, with a total influx of 125,000 people, 20,000 of them to the Day Carnival, and an economic return to the business fabric of the municipality that is estimated at more than six million euros, which accounts for its relevance.

Los Cristianos Carnival 2023: 17 - 27 March

• 2023 Carnival Theme in Los Cristianos: Japan

The festivities will begin on Friday, March 17 with the Opening Parade along the Golden Mile of Playa de las Américas and will continue with the Carnival Parade on Sunday, March 19. Other shows will be the Drag Night, the Daytime Carnival, the Beach Route, and various activities, more than twenty, until culminating with the Burial of the Sardine on Monday, March 27. 

The carnival in Los Cristianos is probably the most popular event of its type in the South of Tenerife and it's fun to participate in. It doesn't matter if you get dressed up or not, the carnival has a unique energy that spreads among all of its participants, so be sure to join in if you are in Tenerife at this time of the year.

Don't Miss: Best Things To Do in Los Cristianos

SCHEDULE FOR LOS CRISTIANOS CARNIVAL 2023

Saturday, March 18

• Inauguration of the Carnival Exhibition 
  Hours: From March 18 to 31 from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  PLACE: Cultural Center of Los Cristianos.
• Opening Carnival parade.
  PLACE: Playa de Las Américas, from CC Gala, in avda. Rafael Puig Lluvina, to CC Oasis, in avda. The Americas.
• Musical show.
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos.

Sunday, March 19

• Carnival Concert of the Arona Music Band.
  PLACE: Plaza de La Pescadora, Los Cristianos.
• Carnival parade with the municipal Carnival groups 
  PLACE: From the Plaza del Pescador (Cultural Center) to Los Cristianos beach
• Meeting of Murgas 
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos

Tuesday, March 21

• Exhibition - Comparsas del Carnaval contest.
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos. 

Wednesday, March 22

• Festival of Choreographic Groups
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos

 Thursday, March 23

• Seniors Carnival Dance
  PLACE: Courtyard of the Cultural Center of Los Cristianos.
• Carnival show. 
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos. 

Friday, March 24

• Transgressive Carnival show. 
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos.
• Great dance animated by orchestras. 
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos.
• DJ area entertained by local DJs.
  PLACE: Plaza del Pescador (outside the Cultural Center), Los Cristianos.

Saturday, March 25

• Daytime Carnival with two stages:
  - Family Carnival with various performances, costume contest, workshops, parades and other activities.
  PLACE: Plaza de La Pescadora and ZCA Los Cristianos.
  - Main stage with national and international artists. 
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center Building), Los Cristianos.
• VII Carnival Beach Route.
  PLACE: From Plaza de la Pescadora, promenade, Plaza de la Alpispa, Calle Valle Menéndez, Calle Juan Reverón Sierra, Calle Amalia Alayón to Plaza de la Pescadora, Los Cristianos.
• Great dance animated by orchestras.
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos.
• DJ area entertained by local DJs.
  PLACE: Plaza del Pescador (outside the Cultural Center), Los Cristianos.
   

Sunday, March 26

• Exhibition of Classic and Antique Cars.
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos
• Gran Coso Apotheosis of the Carnival. 
  PLACE: From the Paloma Beach apartments, on avda. Juan Carlos I, to the Cultural Center of Los Cristianos.
• Great dance enlivened by orchestras.
  PLACE: Carnival Venue (in front of the Valdés Center building), Los Cristianos 

Monday, March 27

• Burial of the Carnival Sardine.
  PLACE: From the Plaza del Pescador (Cultural Center), to Los Cristianos Beach.
• DJ area entertained by local DJs.
  PLACE: Plaza del Pescador (outside the Cultural Center), Los Cristianos.

Useful Info: Weather in Tenerife in March 

Los Cristianos Carnival Poster

What's it like at the Carnival in Los Cristianos?

Details about the program of events 2023

Among the planned events is the Opening Parade, which will be held on Saturday, March 18 from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., with an itinerary that goes from the Gala shopping center, on Rafael Puig Lluvina avenue, to the Oasis shopping center.

On Sunday 19, the carnival concert of the Arona Music Band will take place in the Plaza de la Pescadora in Los Cristianos and, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., the Carnival Parade with the municipal groups from the Plaza del Pescador (outside the Cultural Center ) all the way to the beach. At 6:30 p.m., at the Carnival site (in front of the Valdés Center building), there will be the Murgas Meeting.

On Tuesday, March 21, there will be the Carnival troupe exhibition-contest in the same venue, while on Wednesday the Festival of Choreographic Groups will take place and on Thursday, both the Dance for the Elderly in the central patio of the Los Cristianos Cultural Center , such as the Great Carnival Show, in front of the Valdés Center.

On Friday, March 24, the Drag Night of the Los Cristianos International Carnival will be held between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., after which there will be a dance enlivened by orchestras and, in parallel, an area with local DJs.

The Daytime Carnival will take place on Saturday, March 25, with two stages: one for the family in the Plaza de la Pescadora, with performances, a costume contest, workshops, or parades, and another with national and international artists in the central area. 

That same day will be the VII Beach Route, from the Plaza de la Pescadora, and two different areas, with orchestras and DJs. The latter will be located in the Plaza del Pescador, on the esplanade outside the cultural center.

On Sunday the 26th, the Gran Coso Apotheosis of the Carnival will take place, from the Paloma Beach apartments to the Los Cristianos Cultural Center, while on Monday the 27th, both the Burial of the Sardine (Plaza del Pescador) and the DJ area will end the Carnival Los Cristianos International 2023.

The main events at Los Cristianos Carnival 

• Presentation of the candidates for the title of Carnival Queen
• Competition for Comparsas
  
• Announcing Parade in Los Cristianos and Wig Party 
• Concert by Banda de Musica de Arona
• Festival of Choreographic Groups
• Gala for the Election of Third Age Carnival Queen
• Gala for the Election of Kids Carnival Queen
• Election of the Carnival Queen
• Election Drag Queen of the Carnival in Los Cristianos
• Daytime Carnival in Los Cristianos and Costume Competition (El Carnaval de Dia de Los Cristianos)
• Los Cristianos Carnival Parade (El Coso Apoteósico del Carnaval de Los Cristianos)
• Burial of the Sardine (Entierro de la Sardina)