World's Most Famous Flower Festivals | Top 10 Flower Festivals in the World

Most of the spectacularly beautiful things anyone gets to see are in nature around them. And nature in all its glory expresses its beauty through vivid colors and shapes, and they are represented in the form of Flowers. People have long since been bewildered and mesmerized by the beauty and uniqueness of different flowers.

Flowers are also used in symbolizing multiple human emotions across various cultures, some examples are, red roses symbolize love and passion and daisies symbolize innocence. They are also used in various rituals and occasions to decorate and serve as offerings. It doesn’t come as a surprise that many cultures have incorporated celebration of flowers directly or indirectly in their customs.

Every year, multiple flower festivals are celebrated around the world, expressing and showcasing local culture along with providing a unique experience that is unparalleled to its visitors. Here is the

Top 10 Flower Festivals in the World

10- Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

George Gibbs, from England immigrated to Orcas Island, and in the year 1892 he bought 5 dollars’ worth of flower bulbs and on being surprised on how fast they multiplied after being planted he recognized the potential for bulb growing in the region. In 1899, he wrote to the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) regarding the commercial viability of bulb growing in that particular region.

After 6 years USDA sent 15000 bulbs to be grown as an experiment. The experiment turned out to be a grand success and became to be celebrated as Bellingham Tulip Festival. Later in 1984 it was named Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The festival has more than one million visitors.
9- Battaglia di Fiori, Ventimiglia

The name roughly translates to “Battle of Flowers”. It is a parade of flower floats that takes place in Ventimiglia in June. The early versions of festival have known to been celebrated back in the early twentieth century and is generally held in the beginning of spring.

And only after 1930 did the parade start becoming officially recognized. And since then the festival is held annually except for the 9 year suspension during the Second World War. This festival is one of thirty-four events that recognition of “Heritage of Italy – for tradition” in 2011.
8- Batalla de Flores

The city proposed an annual fair to attract outsiders and increase the income of the city, thus in July 1871, it was decided that every year in July the Valencia July Fair will be held with pavilions, exhibition of plants and flowers and selling general products. And in 1891 Batalla de Flores was established and takes place in Alameda during the last Sunday of July around 8pm.

The event is brought to life and made merrier when on-lookers pelt flowers at the people parading and the women defend themselves with tennis rackets.

7- Festival of the Flowers, Medellin

This is one of the most important events of the city. It includes other forms of entertainment such as horse parade and musical concerts. The first Flower festival took place in 1957 and lasted for 5 days in celebration of Virgin Mary day. The flower parade is an indication of end of slavery.

The festival during its initial years was celebrated in May but was later in 1958 changed to August, to celebrate Antioquia’s independence. Later on other events were added such as Guinness records and international pageant of the flowers.

6- Canadian Tulip Festival

This festival is held in Ottawa, Canada in May. It is often claimed to be the world’s largest tulip festival, with over one million tulips up for display. The tulips are put up for display all over the city, but the largest display of tulips is found in the shores of Dow’s lake in Commissioner’s Park and Rideau Canal.

The festival also includes exhibition of cuisines and music performances. Beside tulip beds, a large tented pavilion provides food, entertainment and cultural insight from different countries.
5- Rose Parade

This festival originally began in 1890 in Pasadena, California by Valley Hunt club and has been a part of the new year celebrations ever since. Except if the day of the new year falls on a Sunday because of the “deal with the god”. This parade features many elements like bands, floats, tableaus, horse units and equestrian units marching over a distance of about 8.9kms and is followed by “rose bowl”; a football match between local colleges.

Floats are a major attraction of this parade and as much as 40-50 floats are featured every year which are made entirely of natural substances, mainly flowers. There are even honours given which include Grand Marshal, Rose Queen and royal court. On an average a total of 700,000 people attend the parade and is watched by over 70 million people worldwide.

4- Chiang Mai Flower Festival

The name of the festival roughly translates to “rose of the north” and is a 3-day celebration that happens on the first weekend of February in Thailand. The major flower in display is the Damask Rose, which is found in only this part of the country.

The centre stage for this festival is the SuanBuakhaad park which will be filled with parade displays like patios, orchids, water fountains, miniature trees and of course, a wide variety of flowers. One can even get a glimpse of local arts and dances in the parade. people from across the world attend this flower festival and are even given flowers by the Thai dancers.

3- Genzano Infiorata Flower Festival

When its June, Genzano a city in Rome gets filled completely by flowers of different varieties. The streets are filled with designs and are made entirely of flowers based on the particular theme each year. The displays are put up a week after Corpus Christi and is often visited by tourists from all over the world

Unlike other flower festival this does not include parades and bands, but there will be a small procession after which children’s will be allowed to trample the carpet marking the end of the festival.
2- Flower Carpet, Brussels

This event is done voluntarily by the people of Belgium who gather in front of the grand palace in the centre of the city after Assumption Day every August and make a huge carpet made entirely of begonias. This is a biennial event which was first started back in 1971 and marked the 20th time in 2016.

Every year a theme is selected to weave the carpet by the organizers which holds the key to this event. The theme mainly focuses on history, tradition and international relationships.

The recent theme marked the 50th anniversary of Turkish immigrants. Many volunteers even come from neighbouring countries and even countries around the world to take part in weaving the beautiful flower carpet.

1- Festa da Flor

This flower festival that happens every year in Madeira, Portugal is often considered as the cultural festival of the region. Along with flower floats and carpets one can also get indulged in the culture, dance and music of this region. This festival marks the arrival of spring and lasts for 4 days.

The first day is completely dedicated for children where children dresses in flower costumes parade the city often called “wall of hope”. On the second day, the streets will be filled with music, colour and parades where people have fun dancing in their costumes and indulge themselves in rich Portuguese culture.

There are even flower markets allowing the tourists know about the rich flora of the region.

Festa da Flor is the most attended flower festival in the world and helps economically too for the people of this region, making it the most successful flower festival in the world.
Top 10 Flower Festivals in the World

Sr No. Top 10 Flower Festivals
1 Festa da Flor
2 Flower Carpet, Brussels
3 Genzano Infiorata Flower Festival
4 Chiang Mai Flower Festival
5 Rose Parade
6 Canadian Tulip Festival
7 Festival of the Flowers, Medellin
8 Batalla de Flores
9 Battaglia di Fiori, Ventimiglia
10 Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Flower festivals are often celebrated to applaud the beauty of the nature and are often concentrated on the flowers which are unique to the location. Everything about these festivals are beautiful and make people realize the beauty of the earth that was in front of them the whole time.

Apart from the beauty these festivals are often focused on specific themes which include many event from across the world which helps in public awareness and are often helpful in breaking taboos. One is always guaranteed a peace of mind if they visit a flower festival. So, if you are looking for a quick breakaway from your regular life then consider going to one of the flower festivals listed above or the one happening around you.