Turbulent Carnival 2025 in Tenerife characterizes this edition with windy and rainy conditions and, above all, the death of a carnival-goer.
The Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival 2025 will go down in history as a festival full of contrasts, marked by both extravagant celebrations and deep moments of mourning and unforeseen interruptions. While hundreds of thousands of revelers took to the streets to participate in the biggest festivities of the year, the program was unexpectedly disrupted by a tragic event and adverse weather conditions.
Risks Avoided
The festivities were overshadowed by the death of a young man, who lost his life during a fight in the early morning hours on Avenida Marítima. As a sign of respect, the municipality decided to cancel the grand carnival parade, the Coso Apoteosis, leaving an unprecedented silence over the normally lively streets of Santa Cruz. At the same time, the threat of rain and bad weather conditions led the city council to avoid any risk of damage to the valuable costumes and floats of the carnival groups.
Tourists and local visitors, who had traveled in large numbers to the heart of the capital to witness the colorful spectacle, suddenly found themselves facing an empty parade boulevard. For some, it was incomprehensible that bad weather was officially given as the reason, as the sun occasionally peeked through above the city. Despite the cancellation, the Santa Cruz Carnival continues with the Burial of the Sardine, a traditional farewell to the festive period.
Everything Remained Closed
Thus, the 2025 Carnival became an event full of emotional twists, where celebration and tragedy, tradition and chaos came together at the largest carnival festival of the Canary Islands. The parade was canceled due to the death of a young man during Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival and threatening weather conditions.
A 30-year-old man has died after suffering a severe skull trauma, sustained during a fight in the early morning hours on Avenida Marítima in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The police have arrested the suspected perpetrator of the attack.
The grand carnival parade of Santa Cruz, the ‘Coso Apoteosis’, was canceled yesterday as a sign of respect and sympathy for the victim’s family. The municipality made this decision also due to poor weather forecasts, to prevent damage to the costumes and carnival groups. The parade was scheduled to take place at 16:00 but was definitively canceled. Additionally, the kiosks and fairground attractions remained closed.
Decision After Consultation with the City Council
Mayor José Manuel Bermúdez, along with the Councilor of Festivities, Javier Caraballero, and other members of the city council, decided to cancel the parade to respect the work of the carnival groups and show solidarity with the family and friends of the victim. The parade will not be rescheduled and remains canceled for this edition of the Carnival. The main reason for this is the lack of available dates within Carnival 2025, which is dedicated to ‘The Secrets of Africa’.
Tourists Surprised by Cancellation
The sudden cancellation took both local residents and tourists by surprise, some of whom had even dressed up. Around 250 buses with visitors arrived in the morning from various parts of the island at Avenida Francisco La Roche and Avenida Marítima, where the parade was supposed to take place.
Many tourists did not understand why bad weather was cited as a reason for the cancellation, as the sun occasionally broke through in the afternoon above Santa Cruz. This led many visitors to sunbathe in the dry fountain of Plaza de España while waiting for their return to hotels or cruise ships.
Along the parade route, a total of 6,500 free seats had been set up for the public, along with grandstandsaccommodating 1,300 people. All these seats remained empty, and during the afternoon, the dismantling of the grandstands began.
Carnival Continues
The Santa Cruz Carnival resumes today with the Burial of the Sardine. This symbolic ceremony marks the climax of the festivities, after a day in which the city was filled with silence instead of music and dance. The people will long remember the turbulent Carnival 2025 in Tenerife as a moment of eerie silence.
After the mass celebration on Carnival Monday, this day is marked by the funeral procession of the Sardine and a musical program on Plaza del Príncipe.
The funeral procession departs at 21:00 from Calle Juan Pablo II and follows the traditional route through Plaza de Weyler and the streets Méndez Núñez, El Pilar, Villalba Hervás, and La Marina, ending at Plaza de España.
Musical Performances
During the procession, singers Pepe Benavente and El Morocho will perform. Additionally, there is an extensive musical program on Plaza del Príncipe:
21:00 – Pepe y Morocho & Jhonny Maquinaria
23:00 – 01:00 – Orquesta Nueva Línea
01:00 – 03:00 – The Boys Machine (closing performance)
The public is urged to respect the guidelines regarding safety regulations, traffic, and parking, to ensure the event runs smoothly and safely.
Guy Devos © Photography
Turbulent Carnival 2025 in Tenerife ©
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