Nice Carnival

The Nice Carnival is one of the world's major carnival events held annually in February.

The earliest records establish its existence in 1294 when the Count of Provence Charles Anjou, wrote that he had passed "the joyous days of carnival."This may make the Nice Carnival the original carnival celebration.

In 1873 the Carnival was reinvented into a parade, adding masquerades, satirical floats and competitions.

Today the event attracts over a million visitors to Nice every year. The Carnival spans a two-week period in February.

Every year, a special theme is chosen, and traditional artists create 18 floats and other figurines in traditional paper mache for the colorful parade. The parades take place day and night, while on the Promenade des Anglais,

"flower battles" occur.