Carnival Of Nice 2023: 5 Things To Know About This New Edition
His Majesty Carnival returns to Nice from Friday, February 10 to Sunday, February 26. For two weeks, the party will be in full swing in the Côte d'Azur capital, with daytime and night-time corsos, not to mention the traditional flower battles! Here are 5 things to know about the Nice Carnival 2023.
1- The 2023 edition welcomes the King of World Treasures
After a King of Animals-themed carnival in 2022, the City of Nice will celebrate the reign of the King of World Treasures!
Unlike previous years, the theme of the Nice Carnival 2023 is not very explicit. If the title seems a bit complicated, it's because this edition celebrates the inscription of the City of Nice to the UNESCO World Heritage as 'winter resort city of the Riviera'.
For the occasion, Nice carnivalists have imagined a king who has traveled the world and returns to Nice to present us with the treasures of humanity, from the Indian Taj Mahal to the Colosseum of Rome!
2- The floats honor the world heritage
Parading in the wake of the King of World Treasures, the floats of the Nice Carnival 2023 will honor the treasures of the world's heritage as well as the myths and legends from here or elsewhere.
The queen's float, which this year is named Queen of a Thousand and One Adventures, pays tribute to the Moai of Easter Island while another float will bring back to life before your eyes the famous gardens of Babylon considered in antiquity as one of the seven wonders of the world!
The treasures of the intangible heritage of humanity will not be forgotten in the corso: a float will pay tribute to music and another to the perfume industry whose history is so intimately linked to that of the Côte d'Azur and more specifically the Grasse region.
3- The Nice carnival celebrates its 150th anniversary
The 2023 Nice Carnival promises to be memorable in more ways than one. Not only will this edition be more than ever open to the world, but it will also celebrate the 150 years of the carnival
The very first edition of this event dates back to 1873. It's been a century and a half that His Majesty Carnival is burned at the end of each edition and rises from its ashes like a phoenix the following year.
To celebrate this anniversary with dignity, the City of Nice has invited artistic troupes from all over the world and has planned a whole program of free entertainment in the different districts.
The closing festivities will be held on Sunday, February 26, with a 'Nissarde parade' that will leave at 4pm from Castel plage to the Centenaire beach.
4- The Nice Opera organizes a masked ball
As part of the Nice Carnival 2023 and to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the carnival, the Nice Opera invites you to a masked ball on February 25 from 7pm.
If you like to dress up and dance the night away to musette, disco or pop music, don't forget to reserve your seat for this ball. Reservations are required and can be made at the opera's physical box office starting February 7.
This ball is for everyone and all ages, with one condition to meet: come in costume!
5- For the first time there will be electric floats in the parade
Even if it celebrates its 150th anniversary, the Nice Carnival 2023 is still at the forefront of innovation.
For the first time this year, two 100% electric floats will parade in the Carnival Corso. Thus, 2 floats out of 16 will be clean vehicles. This will include the queen's float.
These innovative floats are similar to the others and just as easy to drive, with the notable differences that they produce no noise and no pollution.
If this first test is conclusive, the electric floats, more expensive but also more ecological, are promised to a bright future during the following editions!
