Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival 2027: Dates, Programme and Practical Guide

What it is

The Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the capital's biggest event of the year and one of the largest street festivals in Spain. It was declared a Fiesta de Interés Turístico Internacional in 1980, and in 1987 a Celia Cruz concert in the Plaza de España entered the Guinness Book of Records for the largest crowd gathered in an open-air square for a concert, around 250,000 people. Every edition has a theme. For 2027 the city's festivities department chose "Roma: El Imperio del Carnaval", a return to the very first official theme of 1987, forty years on.

2027 dates

The calendar below was announced by the city council for 2027; the official programme with venues and times is published closer to the date, so check it before booking. One peculiarity of 2027: Ash Wednesday falls on 10 February, but the council moved the street carnival back by two weeks for operational reasons, so the big nights come later than the church calendar would suggest.

• 22 January: opening gala.
• Late January to 6 February: murga and rondalla contests, with the adult murga final on 6 February.
• 7 February: Children's Queen gala. 10 February: Senior Queen gala.
• 13–14 February: comparsa contest and costume contest.
• 17 February: Gala de Elección de la Reina, the Carnival Queen election.
• Friday 19 February: Cabalgata Anunciadora, the opening parade; the street carnival begins.
• Tuesday 23 February: Coso Apoteosis, the main parade along the seafront.
• Wednesday 24 February: Entierro de la Sardina. The council has discussed keeping this ritual tied to Ash Wednesday, so confirm the date in the official programme.
• 26–28 February: Piñata weekend, with the daytime carnival on Saturday 27 and the closing events on Sunday 28.

Official carnival and street carnival

The festival has two halves. The official carnival is the contest season held in the Recinto Ferial exhibition centre: murgas (satirical singing groups), comparsas (dance groups with percussion), rondallas and musical groups, the Drag Queen gala, and the queen galas whose dresses are so large that they are mounted on wheeled frames and pushed by the candidates themselves. The council sells tickets for the galas; the queen election and the murga final sell out.

The street carnival is free and begins with the Cabalgata. For ten days the centre around Plaza de España, Plaza del Príncipe, Plaza de la Candelaria and the Avenida de Anaga fills with stages, the open-air dance areas known as mogollones, and crowds in costume until well past dawn. The Coso is the daytime showpiece, with floats, groups and the queens on parade; the Entierro de la Sardina is a mock funeral with wailing "widows" that ends with the sardine in flames.

Key nights

If you only have a few nights, aim for the Friday of the Cabalgata, the following Saturday, which is the busiest of all, the Tuesday Coso and the Wednesday Sardina. The Saturday of Piñata is quieter and more local.

Costumes

Almost nobody goes out in the street carnival without a costume, and groups of friends in matching outfits are the norm. Anything goes, but comfortable shoes and something warm for the small hours matter more than the look: February nights in Santa Cruz are mild, not warm. Bazaars in the city sell cheap costumes all season.

Getting there and around

Do not drive into the centre on the main nights: streets are closed and parking is impossible. Tram line 1 between Santa Cruz and La Laguna runs continuously through the night on the main dates, with double trams and frequencies of around 12–15 minutes from the evening onwards, and TITSA reinforces its night buses to the rest of the island. From the south, lines 110 and 111 reach the Santa Cruz interchange in about an hour.

Where to stay

Hotels in Santa Cruz are booked months ahead for the street carnival; La Laguna, ten minutes by tram, is the natural alternative. Puerto de la Cruz and the southern resorts work for day trips and single nights if you check the last bus.

Safety and rules

• Glass is banned in the street carnival: kiosks and bars serve in reusable or plastic cups, and glass bottles may not be brought into the area.
• Drinking in the street is part of the festival inside the carnival zone; portable toilets are placed around the main squares, and the council fines urinating in the street.
• Keep phones and wallets in a front pocket; pickpockets work the crowds.
• The emergency number is 112.