Venice Carnival 202, just before the pandemic struck
Venice Carnival 2021 or how not to have a Carnival!
Well folks, it is that time of year again: it is Carnival time!
Or is it?
2020 might have ended, but it looks like that the “annus horribilis” managed to strike again!
With the pandemic still raging, practically all the major Carnivals around the world have been postponed to better times, to the moment when people will be able to stand all together again, celebrating and having fun – rightly so, I would like to add.
Practically everywhere: Viareggio, Verona, Rio De Janeiro in Brasil and more.
But not in Venice! Oh no, here the Venice Carnival 2021 has not been postponed to a time when everyone will be able to enjoy it and celebrate the ending of the terrible global situation.
Enjoying Venice Carnival 2020
No, in Venice, once again, the city decided to do things differently: they simply decided to change the Carnival itself! They have turned it into a giant Zoom meeting!
Defeating the object of Carnival itself, I would like to point out: for people to gather, all together, in disguise; to dance and party; to eat all different sort of Venetian goodies (frittelle & galani and simply have a good time!
Now, don’t get me wrong: I know you all want to see Venice and you want to enjoy seeing the beautiful masks and blah blah blah….but would it not have made more sense to postpone it like every other city has done, to a safer moment? To allow people to enjoy it for real and, maybe, to bring it back to its old glorious days (see my post Bring Back the Old days!) , when all the locals used to attend it and not just the tourists?
The reason behind this decision? Simple: for the City Authorities, the calendar for 2021 is already too full ( the celebrations for the 1600 years of the foundation of Venice, for which we still have no idea of the program; the Biennale; The Salone Nautico and God knows what else!) so there is no space to postpone this very important event!
I leave it to you to ponder if this is just the umpteenth show that this Administration has no real concern on what is good for Venice or simply, they could not be bothered!
The Lagoon Pirates at Venice Carnival 2020
Either way, personally I am very disappointed, again! Another opportunity lost to change the narrative of the city, to show the world that the will to get rid of mass tourism is strong.
Because on the ground, among the people of Venice, there is a strong yearning to change the type of tourism which every year descends on the city, but again and again the authorities are ignoring it and simply concentrating on the big Dollar sign.
Anyway, below are the official poster and press release from the Venice Carnival 2021 Official Page.
So, get your mask on (pardon the pun) and join the strangest Carnival of all times!
If you want to read more about the famous Venice Carnival, its meaning and its history, just click on the links below:
The Carnival of Venice and the Theatre
Venice Carnival – Festa Delle Marie
Venice Carnival – Flight of the Angel
Monica
Food & Travel Blogger, Culinary & Food Tour Guide, Cooking Consultant & Instructor - this is me....as well as an event organiser and overall talker - always in Venice! #aphotoofveniceaday Offering cooking lessons at http://www.cookinvenice.com As a friend once said: A Fire Cracker full of energy, not crazy but a visionary!
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Steven Cairns
We have a huge number of Australian travel clients visiting Venice every year, and of course, they will not have the opportunity to visit in 2021, but we are in the process of rebooking their trips for 2022, and they will definitely be looking forward to experiencing the hubbub and purchasing their masks. It will take more than a nasty virus to sink Venice! We look forward to being with you soon.