Events and festivals
Culture
Cannes International Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival is an extremely popular film festival loaded with a high glamor quotient and attracts the creme de la creme of the global film industry. This event is held usually in the month of May in the beautiful city of Cannes in France, and participation is by invitation only. Films of different genres enter the festival to be reviewed and receive critical acclaim or flak from the audiences, including the critics and press.
The Cannes Film Festival began in 1947. The red carpet events are highly publicized and several film personalities including both upcoming as well as established stars, directors, and producers of the film fraternity attend the festival. The jury of the festival then awards the best performers in various categories such as production, direction, acting, etc.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe: Established in 1946 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival, The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The Fringe) is the world’s largest arts festival. It takes place in Scotland’s capital during four weeks every August. The Fringe mostly attracts events from the performing arts, particularly theater and comedy.
The concept of Fringe Theater has been copied around the world. The largest and most celebrated of these spawned festivals are Adelaide Fringe Festival, National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa, and Edmonton International Fringe Festival.
Oktoberfest in Germany
The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810. It is a 16 to18-day festival held annually in Munich, Germany, running from late September to the first weekend in October. Only beer which is brewed within the city limits of Munich with a minimum of 13.5% Master Spice is allowed to be served in this festival.
Sports
The Grand Slam Tennis Tournaments
The four major tennis events held around the world annually are: the Australian Open in January at Melbourne Park, the French Open in May/June at Roland Garros, the Wimbledon Championship in London in June/July and the US Open at Flushing Meadows in New York in August/September. Any player winning these four titles consecutively in a particular calendar year is said to have won the Grand Slam for that year. Any current tennis player makes it a point to be at these events for sure, unless he or she is hard hit by injuries.
The Wimbledon Championship Open is the oldest, having started in 1877, and is primarily played on grass. The US Open, played on hard courts began in 1881; the French Open, played on clay courts began in 1891; and the Australian Open, played on hard courts, started in 1905. These four events were then initiated as the Grand Slam events in 1924-25.
The Annual World Marathons
Patriots’ Day – the third Monday in the month of April – at Boston is usually a thrilling day for all – youngsters and the old alike. It is associated with the famous annual Boston Marathon, which is hosted in Greater Boston in the US passing through several cities there. The event witnesses huge crowds and is considered extremely popular amongst professional runners, who brave the vagaries of the weather there to make it a memorable race for their lives.
This scenario is synonymous with most of the major marathons held across the world. For instance, the Tokyo Marathon is held in February, the London Marathon is run along the river Thames, Berlin Marathon, Chicago Marathon, the picturesque New York City Marathon, and the Paris Marathon where you can sight the Eiffel Tower and other historic monuments, are the other prestigious events. The world’s oldest annual marathon at Boston began in the year 1897 with 18 participants, shortly after the hugely successful 1896 Summer Olympics was held. Since then, it has become a major part of the regular World Marathon events. Apart from these events, the IAAF World Championships Marathon and the Olympic Marathon are the recognized marathons attracting huge participation. There are more than 1,300 marathons running currently in the world.
The Boston Marathon race, which epitomizes the spirit of the Athenian and American struggles for liberty, hosts about 20,000 participants each year. Similarly, the other marathons too depict the unbending, unwavering will and die-hard spirit of the people as they struggle for more civil liberties, rights, and independence.
Tour de France Cycling Event
An annual event, the Tour de France as the name suggests is a several-stage bicycle race held primarily in France. The bicycle event also passes through certain points in the neighboring countries.
What began as a promotional event in 1903 for a magazine L’Auto to scale up sales, has since matured into an annual race with the exceptions of the two World Wars, when it had to be stopped. Over the years, with growing popularity, the race length has increased and has become a prominent event.
Riders from all parts of the globe participate and compete on behalf of UCI ProTeams, along with the teams invited by the organizers. The Tour de France is perhaps the most prestigious cycling event in the world along with other major events such as the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a Espana.
Traditionally, the race is held primarily in the month of July. The route changes every year while the format of the race literally stays the same including a passage through the mountain chains of the Pyrenees and the Alps and the finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. The participating teams usually are 20-22 in number, with nine riders in each team.
