FROM THE DEVIL WHO JUMPS OVER BABIES TO THE CHEESE AT 110 KM/H: THE 10 MOST UNUSUAL FESTIVALS IN THE WORLD!
Festival TV scoured the whole planet to unearth the festivals with the wildest concepts — and verified them one by one, sources in hand. A devil who jumps over babies, a beauty contest for men judged by women, an entire city bombarding itself with oranges, a Viking longship burned by a thousand torches and a banquet served to thousands of monkeys: here is our Top 10 of the most unusual festivals in the world, ranked from the most mind-blowing to number ten, with our Top 5 in the spotlight. Hold on tight: it is all true.
Why such a ranking? Because Festival TV covers festivals around the world — giants like village micro-festivals — and some parties challenge the imagination so much that they deserve a podium on their own. And the ten join our world directory today, which has more than 160 festivals listed.
THE FEATURED TOP 5
No. 1 — El Colacho (Spain): the devil who jumps over babies. In Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos, a man dressed as a devil — red and yellow costume, horned mask — runs through the streets symbolically whipping passers-by, then jumps over mattresses where the babies born that year are lying. According to local belief, the jump purifies them of original sin and protects them from misfortune; they are then blessed and sprinkled with petals. The ritual is said to date back to the early 1620s — it has been going on for over 400 years! The next edition is expected on the Sunday following Corpus Christi, in late May 2027: in all honesty, the exact date remains to be confirmed, as no official calendar has published it yet.
No. 2 — Guérewol (Niger and Chad): the beauty contest… for men. Among the Wodaabe, nomadic herders of the Sahel, it is the young men who spend hours applying makeup — red ochre, white dots, blackened lips, feathers and jewellery — before dancing the Yaake in lines for hours, rolling their eyes and showing their teeth, marks of beauty. The judges? Young women, who pick the most handsome: a flirtation, sometimes a marriage, can be born of it. The Guérewol is held at the end of the rainy season, in late September, in the wake of the Cure Salée: no published fixed dates, no official website, no tickets — an ancestral pastoral gathering, and that is also what makes it unique.
No. 3 — The Battle of the Oranges (Italy): an entire city declares war on itself. In Ivrea, in Piedmont, the last three days of carnival re-enact the medieval revolt against a tyrant: nine teams of “aranceri” on foot battle, with hundreds of thousands of oranges, the tyrant's guards perched on horse-drawn carts. The founding legend: the miller's daughter Violetta, who killed the tyrannical marquis and sparked the popular revolt. Around 5,000 people take part in the battle, according to EverybodyLovesItalian — and the decomposed oranges end up as compost handed out to the public. Next battle: February 7 to 9, 2027, with the programme already online on the Fondazione's official website.
No. 4 — Up Helly Aa (Shetland, United Kingdom): the Viking longship burned by torchlight. On the last Tuesday of January, Lerwick blazes: hundreds of costumed men — up to around 1,000 guizers, according to Wikipedia — parade at night by torchlight behind the Guizer Jarl and his troupe of Vikings, then drag a replica longship built for the occasion to the pyre and set it alight amid singing. Heir to the flaming tar barrels of old, the festival marks the end of the Yule season. Next date: Tuesday, January 26, 2027 — the soonest in the whole ranking!
No. 5 — Monkey Buffet Festival (Thailand): the monkeys' banquet. In Lopburi, at the Khmer temple of Phra Prang Sam Yot, whole tables of fruit, vegetables and sweets — nearly 2 tons of offerings, according to Atlas Obscura — are laid out for the town's macaques, guests of honour revered since the Ramayana epic, in which the monkey god Hanuman helped Prince Rama. After an opening danced by performers in monkey costumes, the veils are lifted: let the feast begin. Created in 1989 by a local hotelier to thank the monkeys and boost tourism, the festival is held on the last Sunday of November: next edition on November 29, 2026.
FIVE MORE TREASURES OF STRANGENESS
No. 6 — Takanakuy (Peru): fighting at Christmas to make peace. Every December 25, in Santo Tomás, in the Andes of the Cusco region, the year's grievances — an insult, a disputed plot of land, a debt — are settled through ritual bare-knuckle fights, regulated and supervised, to the sound of Huaylia music. And every bout ends with an embrace and a reconciliation: the year can start over from zero. A tradition whose pre-Hispanic lineage is debated by researchers — and we present it as such.
No. 7 — Kanamara Matsuri (Japan): the procession of the steel phallus. At the Kanayama shrine in Kawasaki, gigantic phalluses are carried on palanquins (mikoshi), including the famous pink “Elizabeth” mikoshi, donated by a drag club. Behind the humour lies a real purpose: the shrine has been invoked since the Edo period for fertility, safe childbirth and protection against sexually transmitted diseases — and the festival raises funds for HIV/AIDS research and celebrates diversity. Next edition: Sunday, April 4, 2027.
No. 8 — Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling (England): the race after a cheese. A near-vertical 180 m hill, a 3 to 4 kg wheel of Double Gloucester launched at nearly 110 km/h, and dozens of runners tumbling down after it: the first one at the bottom wins the cheese. In all honesty: there is no official organizer — the historic committee has disbanded, local authorities declare the event “unsafe” every year, and it happens anyway, carried by local tradition. Next edition expected on Monday, May 31, 2027.
No. 9 — Eukonkanto (Finland): the Wife Carrying World Championships. In Sonkajärvi, competitors run carrying their partner over 253.5 metres of obstacles — a water crossing, logs, sand — with a 15-second penalty if she falls; she must weigh at least 49 kg, ballast required below that, and the champions' prize is her weight… in beer. Created in 1992, the championships draw on the legend of the brigand Herkko Rosvo-Ronkainen. Next edition: July 2 and 3, 2027, dates published on the official website.
No. 10 — International Hair Freezing Contest (Yukon, Canada): hair sculpted by frost. At the Eclipse hot springs near Whitehorse, bathers plunge into water at around 40 °C, shape their wet hair and beards into extravagant forms, and let the −20 °C air freeze them within minutes into white frost sculptures. Created in 2011, the contest holds a Guinness world record: 288 participants with frozen hair at once, in 2020. But in all honesty here too: entirely weather-dependent, it was cancelled or postponed over the last two winters for lack of sufficient cold.
Spain, Niger, Italy, Shetland, Thailand, Peru, Japan, England, Finland, Yukon: five continents, ten ways to celebrate that go beyond imagination — proof, if needed, that the party is a universal language. So which of these festivals would go to the top of YOUR list?
Practical information
The 10 unusual festivals join the Festival TV directory — “Our Festivals” section, fact sheets filed by continent: Europe (El Colacho, Battle of the Oranges, Up Helly Aa, Cheese-Rolling, Eukonkanto), Africa (Guérewol), Asia (Monkey Buffet, Kanamara Matsuri), the Americas (Takanakuy, Hair Freezing Contest).
Featured Top 5: El Colacho (Spain), Guérewol (Niger/Chad), Battle of the Oranges (Italy), Up Helly Aa (Shetland), Monkey Buffet Festival (Thailand).
Coming editions: Monkey Buffet Festival on November 29, 2026; Takanakuy on December 25, 2026; Up Helly Aa on January 26, 2027; Battle of the Oranges from February 7 to 9, 2027.
— Moïse 1er, the Festival Explorer