{"id":266,"date":"2026-01-28T14:32:54","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T14:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/?p=266"},"modified":"2026-01-28T17:29:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T17:29:17","slug":"carnival-in-gozo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/","title":{"rendered":"Carnival in Gozo"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Traditionally, Carnival festivities take place in the days leading up to <strong>Ash Wednesday<\/strong>, offering one last explosion of colour, music and merriment before the reflective season of Lent begins. In <strong>2026<\/strong>, Ash Wednesday falls on <strong>18 February<\/strong>, placing Carnival celebrations firmly in <strong>early to mid-February<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During Carnival, social conventions are gleefully suspended \u2014 everyone is free to wear masks, dress up in extravagant costumes, and embrace humour, satire and a little outrageous fun. It\u2019s a celebration rooted in centuries-old tradition, yet constantly reinvented through creativity and community spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-768x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-1536x2048.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-830x1107.jpg 830w, https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-230x307.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-350x467.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-480x640.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-scaled.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Carnival float in Victoria.  Photo by: <a href=\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/kovexdi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/instagram.com\/kovexdi<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When is Carnival celebrated in 2026?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In <strong>Gozo<\/strong>, Carnival will be celebrated between <strong>7 and 17 February 2026<\/strong>, with events spread across the island and major festivities centred in <strong>Victoria (Rabat)<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across many Catholic countries, Carnival is marked by decorated homes, elaborate floats and lively street performances. Malta and Gozo are no exception, with vibrant street installations, exhibitions, parades and dance performances honouring this historic tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Nadur Carnival \u2013 Gozo\u2019s Most Iconic Celebration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In Gozo, the most famous and arguably the most unconventional Carnival is held in <strong>Nadur<\/strong>. This unique celebration attracts thousands of visitors from Malta and abroad every year and has earned a reputation for its bold humour and raw creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nadur Carnival consists of two distinct experiences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Organised Nadur Carnival<\/strong> \u2013 featuring colourful floats, music and performances in <strong>St Peter &amp; St Paul\u2019s Square<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Spontaneous (People\u2019s) Carnival<\/strong> \u2013 where locals take over the village streets after sunset, wearing grotesque, satirical and often politically inspired costumes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>While it has evolved over the years into a larger street party, the <strong>Nadur Spontaneous Carnival<\/strong> remains one of the most peculiar and authentic expressions of Gozitan Carnival culture, offering a striking contrast to the more polished parades elsewhere on the island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-pale-pink-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key Carnival Events in Gozo \u2013 2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udfad Victoria (Gozo Regional Carnival)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Opening Carnival Parade<\/strong><br><strong>Saturday, 7 February<\/strong> at <strong>19:30<\/strong> \u2013 Republic Street to Independence Square<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Carnival Parades &amp; D\u00e9fil\u00e9s<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Friday, 13 February<\/strong> from <strong>17:00 onwards<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Saturday, 14 February<\/strong> from <strong>10:00\u201314:00<\/strong> and <strong>17:00 onwards<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sunday, 15 February<\/strong> from <strong>14:00 onwards<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monday, 16 February<\/strong> from <strong>17:00 onwards<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Grand Finale<\/strong><br><strong>Tuesday, 17 February<\/strong> from <strong>17:00\u201323:00<\/strong><br>\ud83d\udccd Republic Street &amp; Independence Square, Victoria<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83c\udf89 Nadur Carnival<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Organised Nadur Carnival<\/strong><br><strong>Sunday, 8 February<\/strong> from <strong>12:30pm<\/strong><br>\ud83d\udccd St Peter &amp; St Paul\u2019s Square, Nadur<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Spontaneous Nadur Carnival<\/strong><br><strong>13 \u2013 17 February<\/strong>, daily <strong>after sunset<\/strong><br>\ud83d\udccd Nadur village streets<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udc83 Village Carnivals (Selected Highlights)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Xag\u0127ra Carnival<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>Friday, 14 February<\/strong> at <strong>19:00<\/strong>, Nazzarenu Square<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Xewkija Carnival<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>Saturday, 15 February<\/strong> at <strong>09:30<\/strong>, St John the Baptist Square<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>G\u0127ajnsielem Carnival<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>Friday, 14 February<\/strong> at <strong>14:00<\/strong>, Our Lady of Loreto Square<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plus celebrations in <strong>G\u0127arb, Sannat, Fontana, \u017bebbu\u0121, Munxar and San Lawrenz<\/strong> throughout the week<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Getting There with Ease \ud83d\ude90<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Planning to attend Carnival events in Gozo? Skip the hassle of parking and late-night driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udcde <strong>Pre-book minivan or taxi transportation<\/strong> to any Carnival event in Gozo:<br><strong>Tel:<\/strong> 2155 6678<br><strong>Email:<\/strong> <a>info@mayjocarhire.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you\u2019re heading to the vibrant parades in Victoria or the unforgettable spontaneous madness of Nadur, we\u2019ll get you there comfortably and safely.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Traditionally, Carnival festivities take place in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, offering one last explosion of colour, music [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[28,8,29],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v20.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Carnival in Gozo - Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carnival in Gozo - Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Traditionally, Carnival festivities take place in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, offering one last explosion of colour, music [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T14:32:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-28T17:29:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-768x1024.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mayjo-gozo\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mayjo-gozo\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/\",\"name\":\"Carnival in Gozo - Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-28T14:32:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-28T17:29:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e861e3d750f9aff140316f736a9bdd05\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Carnival in Gozo\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/\",\"name\":\"Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog\",\"description\":\"Love Gozo. Live Local.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e861e3d750f9aff140316f736a9bdd05\",\"name\":\"Mayjo-gozo\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/778d30046e899e511458013d0679ae4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/778d30046e899e511458013d0679ae4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Mayjo-gozo\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/author\/blogadmin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Carnival in Gozo - Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Carnival in Gozo - Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog","og_description":"Traditionally, Carnival festivities take place in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday, offering one last explosion of colour, music [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/","og_site_name":"Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog","article_published_time":"2026-01-28T14:32:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-28T17:29:17+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/carnival-float-gozo-768x1024.jpg"}],"author":"Mayjo-gozo","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Mayjo-gozo","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/","name":"Carnival in Gozo - Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-01-28T14:32:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-28T17:29:17+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e861e3d750f9aff140316f736a9bdd05"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/carnival-in-gozo\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Carnival in Gozo"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/","name":"Gozo &amp; Malta Travel Blog","description":"Love Gozo. Live Local.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e861e3d750f9aff140316f736a9bdd05","name":"Mayjo-gozo","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/778d30046e899e511458013d0679ae4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/778d30046e899e511458013d0679ae4e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Mayjo-gozo"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/author\/blogadmin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266"}],"version-history":[{"count":45,"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1584,"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266\/revisions\/1584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mayjocarhire.com\/mayjo-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}