The biggest festival in the world is, in fact, the Kumbh Mela. A meeting in India of more than 130 million people at a time and place dictated by astrology. The best music festivals in the world aren't necessarily the biggest, but we can all agree that there's something very powerful behind a music festival that can attract more than 3 million people. Here we have listed the 10 most important festivals in the world, so you can bring out the glitter and enjoy.
The Polish Woodstock, which bears the name of the famous 1969 festival in New York, is a well-deserved tribute to rock, pop, metal and folk. With artists like The Prodigy playing to more than 1 million people, the festival has a history of big crowds and a special atmosphere. Admission is free and the festival's motto is “Love, Friendship and Music”, in honor of the original festival that changed consciousness. Every year, Thailand celebrates the new year with the biggest water fight in the world and it's one of the most fun festivals in the world you'll attend.
The Songkran Festival is celebrated on April 13th every year during the Thai New Year. Thaipusam is a three-day festival, but it has become so popular that the celebrations begin long before the 13th and continue for days after. The best place to celebrate in Thailand is in the ancient capital of Chiang Mai. Dave Bouskill and Debra Corbeil are the owners and founders of The Planet D.
After traveling to 115 countries, on 7 continents over the past 13 years, they have become one of the leading experts in travel. Being recognized as the best travel bloggers and influencers by Forbes magazine, the Society of American Travel Writers and USA Today has allowed them to become leaders in their field. New Orleans is known to be a city of music, but it's no surprise that a place with less than 400,000 inhabitants has two of the biggest music festivals in the world. Held in an 18th century fortress called Peterovaradin, Exit is a multi-genre music festival that began in 2000.
The Queensland Music Festival, a three-week festival, has been a biennial fixture on Australia's cultural calendar since it began in 1999. Other major festivals in India are Diwali, the Ganesh Festival, the Pushkar Camel Festival, the Kerala Temple Festival and the Durga Puja Festival. Since its creation in 1993, the festival has grown considerably, going from being a discreet festival aimed at students to being twice the winner of the title of best major European festival. Known as a national folk festival with a local flavor, the National Folk Festival is essentially an annual three-day festival that goes all over the country.
In addition to the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, the state of Louisiana also hosts the Essence Music Festival. Started in 1994 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Essence, a magazine for African-American women, the event has become the largest music festival of African-American culture in the United States. One of the most important festivals celebrating Latin American and Spanish music from around the world, this festival that covers all genres presents an eclectic mix of rock, pop, ska and reggae. The Sziget Festival rose from the ashes of the end of the communist era in Hungary to become one of the most famous musical events in Europe.
Although the jury is still out on whether this pop culture phenomenon is really a music festival, given that it offers so much more (including, basically, being a massive movie convention), South by Southwest hosts enough great musical performances every year to make it feel worthy of being included. The second largest music festival in the world can be visited in Rabat (Morocco), of all places, and was once attended by 2.5 million visitors. It's hard to imagine that a festival could have more attendees than a megacity, but that's exactly the case with some festivals. .
