Venice Carnival: Pre-carnival “water parades” are beginning this weekend on the Cannaregio Canal

The historic floating city is now gearing up to the most renowned seasonal festival, as the celebrations have officially started in the Cannaregio area. The weekend marks the beginning of a festive of great spectacles, which have turned the narrow waterways into a spectacle light and music stage. Within the 2026 theme, “Olympus -The Origins of the Game,” the celebrations honor the ancient culture, as well as the future Winter Olympics. It is projected that thousands of spectators will be crammed along the banks to see the floating stages and costumed rowers coming back, and several weeks of all-immersive cultural pageantry and mystery takes place.

Epic Venice Carnival Moments

The Rio di Cannaregio is used as a charming stage as the evening falls, in the Venetian Festival on the Water. This event is characterized by lit buildings that slide down the Rio with acrobats and symphonic music. It gives a close view of the soul of the city before the large masses come to the St. Marks square.

Iconic Water Parades

The next day the mood changes to a vigorous rowing regatta. More than one hundred traditional boats, operated by people in splendid costumes, pass the Grand Canal. The climax of the whole parade is the colossal rat-shaped vessel, the Pantegana, which tosses confetti into the air, which formally invites all people to the street performances and masquerade parties.