Amazing Events Around the World

Here are the most bizarre/amazing events around the the world that you are missing out on every year by not exploring. This is motivation for you to go out and see what else is out in the world!
(I apologize in advance for making your local concerts and street fairs look like petting zoos)

LA TOMATINA

Bunyol, Spain — August 26th – 11am

Every year 30,000 people assemble in the streets of Bunyol, Spain to participate in the largest tomato fight in the world. 125,000 kg of tomatoes are brought into the city via truck so ammunition is never short. 5 massive tomato-packed rockets are exploded in the air to commence the fight. There are only two rules:

1) You must squish each tomato before throwing it so that the force of the vegetable against you target’s head will not cause injury

2) Only tomatoes can be thrown

BURNING MAN

‘Black Rock City’, Nevada, USA — September 3rd-5th

The official site for Burning Man describes the event as “a city in the desert dedicated to radical self reliance, radical self-expression and art.” Even that description cannot do Burning Man justice, however; there is just too much going on. Basically 50,000+ people swarm to the middle-of-no-where, Nevada and build a temporary city that they call Black Rock City. Those who attend are simply expected to contribute whatever they can to the Burning Man community.

The name gets its roots from the giant wooden effigy that is ritually burned every year (as seen below). There is also a temple that has constructed and burned every year since 2000. Artists construct huge art pieces all over Black Rock City and music is always being played by musicians. Nudity and psychedelic drugs are very prevalent. Need I say more?

OKTOBERFEST

Theresienwiese, Germany — Sept 19th to Oct 4th

Oktoberfest, the celebration of beer, is the biggest festival in the world with over 6 million people attending annually. Reportedly over 6 million liters of beer are consumed within the beer gardens there. Yet despite all of the alcohol-consumption, Oktoberfest boasts a great family atmosphere with a huge fairground to entertain kids and adults alike. The event kicks off on the first Saturday with a huge procession of the tent concessionaires, all of which are pulled by those gigantic horses you see on beer commercials. Oktoberfest is nothing short of epic…especially if you’ve been participating in some of the beer-drinking activities.

CANNABIS CUP

Amsterdam — November 22 – 26

High Times magazine hosts the Cannabis Cup annually to celebrate the wonders of marijuana as well as the legalization movement. Participants are encouraged to purchase a judge’s badge which allows them access to all ceremonies, concerts, seminars, the expo and of course, the right to vote on the best strain of cannabis. The hundreds of different coffee shops in Amsterdam all create their own strains of marijuana (like micro-breweries for marijuana).
While High Times states that samples must be purchased from the coffee shops, there are tons of booths at the expo that give out free samples including joints, small sacks and full vaporizer bags. The coffee houses take immense pride in their strains so they will do whatever possible to win the competition.

different strains of cannabis

vaporizer bag full of marijuana vapor

SONGKRAN

Thailand — April 13-15

Songkran is the celebration of the Buddhist New Year that takes over Thailand for 3 full days in April. The goal? To “cleanse” everyone and everything in sight. Yes, prayer is involved but the main way of cleansing is to douse everything in water. Participants are all armed with buckets, water guns, hoses and whatever they can get their hands on that can get others wet. Even the police are not spared from being soaked! You gotta love Thailand for that fact alone

SAN FERMIN

Pamplona, Spain — July 6-14

Made famous by Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Sun Also Rises,’ the festival of San Fermin is simply incredible. Most of you have heard of the running of the bulls, or ‘el encierro’ as it is called by the locals, which takes place each morning at 8am. After those wounded from the bulls have been removed from the streets, however, the real partying begins. Alcohol and great food are everywhere. The bars are open and filled with people by 9am so you can imagine the atmosphere of the festival’s entirety. Bull fights take place each night at 6:30pm which can usually only be attended if you buy tickets in advance.

Note: Make sure you wear all white with a red bandanna around your neck if you plan to attend or you will be the ONLY person there without such attire.

Amazing Events in picture

An image of the Earth captured by Russian weather satellite Elektro-L. Launched in January 2011 from Baikonur Cosmodrome the satellite has been orbiting the Earth at 36,000km above the equator, capturing new images of Earth.

London Mayor Boris Johnson takes former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger for a ride on one of his 'Boris bikes'

Here's a real-life Angry Bird. Telegraph reader Gerard Girling sent us this fantastic picture, writing: "Angry Birds are all the rage at the moment - but I have never seen one so furious as this tiny female Blue-grey Gnatcatcher, (Poliopitila caerulea).

Scientists have unveiled the most accurate map ever produced of the Earth's gravity. It seems it is shaped not like a sphere but a potato. A precise model of Earth's geoid is crucial for deriving accurate measurements of ocean circulation, sea-level change and terrestrial ice dynamics. The geoid is also used as a reference surface from which to map the topographical features on the planet. In addition, a better understanding of variations in the gravity field will lead to a deeper understanding of Earth's interior, such as the physics and dynamics associated with volcanic activity and earthquakes.

Space shuttle Endeavour suffered minor damage on the launch pad as severe thunderstorms swept through Kennedy Space Centre. Lightning struck and there were reports of hail. Wind gusts reached 90 mph (145 kph). Two funnel clouds were reported as the severe weather continued. Funnel clouds are rotating columns of wind coming off clouds; if they touch the ground, they form tornadoes. Endeavour's external fuel tank sustained minor damage to some of its insulating foam, said NASA spokesman Allard Beutel.

Severe weather moves in over the vehicle assembly building at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida

This picture is one of a series taken by photographer Chris Fallows, 36, that show albatrosses diving for fish less than a metre above dozens of hungry sharks. The birds were spotted swimming precariously close to the sharks as they were being fed fish by a boat full of tourists. The daring birds even pecked at the sharks and stole their lunch - yet the sharks remained unfazed and continued to swim less than a metre beneath them. 

A goat from Yanji in northeast China's Liaoning Province has been nicknamed "Strong-willed goat" as it has learned to walk on just its front two forelegs. Yang Yang the goat was born without hind legs in January and has learned walk on its front legs. And within a month Yang Yang had learned how to balance, walk and even run upside down on just his front legs.

John Sutton gets to play with his very own nuclear submarine - docked on the river Medway in Rochester, Kent. The underwater vessel was part of a fleet under the command of the Soviet Union. John Sutton has looked after the war machine for nine years. "This weekend is her 44th birthday as she was built in Russia on the first of April 1967," explained John. "It was her job to hunt down enemy sea vessels. The Soviet Union never went to war with America so she didn't see combat. She was used for patrolling the Baltic Sea and training sailors. By 1994 the submarine was decommissioned. Inside the maze-like inside of the submarine the red stars and other symbols of the Soviet Union look the same as the day Communism fell. The 78 seamen shared their sleeping area with live nuclear torpedoes and had to work 12-hours-per-day

Prince William sits at the controls of a Sea King helicopter at RAF Valley on Anglesey, Wales. Prince William is serving as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, based at RAF Valley on Anglesey.

An aerial view of Quito city is seen from an aircraft flying above Mariscal Sucre Airport, which is located 2,813 metres (9,229 feet) above sea level in the Andes Mountains.

A Libyan rebel rocket launcher misfires while shelling pro-Gaddafi forces, along the front line outside the eastern town of Brega

Amazing Events in Pictures

A Woman answers her mobile phone using a traditional receiver in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China


Ann Widdecombe posed in front of the Houses of Parliament in London to launch a campaign from Action on Hearing Loss which is encouraging the British public to get their hearing tested


Eighteen-year-old Junrey Balawing receives a certificate proclaiming him as the world's shortest man from the Guinness Book of World Records, in the rural southern Philippine township of Sindangan, Zamboanga Del Norte. Balawing, who measured 59.93 centimetres or 23.5 inches, was officially declared the world's shortest man as he celebrates his 18th birthday, stripping Nepal's Khagendra Thapa Magar of the title...


...The previous world shortest living man, Khagendra Thapa Magar, measuring 67.08 centimetres (26.4 inches), shows off his Guinness World Records medals in Pokhara, west of Kathmandu. He is more than 7 centimetres taller than Junrey Balawing.


Zookeeper Sarah Jurgens looks at a pygmy marmoset named Reillo. She nursed Reillo after he was abandoned by his parents shortly after birth on May 7th at the Lincoln Children's Zoo in Nebraska. Reillo was only as long as a human thumb when he was born, and now weighs in at a healthy 60 grams.


Pan Zhiyi, a Chinese builder angry at being made to pay a 33,000 Yuan ($5,281.19) court fine, paid the entire amount using coins and small denomination notes. He packed the money into five large bags and drove them to the courthouse in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, to pay the fine. "We helped both parties to transport the coins into a nearby bank, which said they don't have the time to clear it," said a courthouse worker. He finally paid the compensation in large denomination notes the next day.


Lightning flashes in the ash cloud of the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano eruption, as seen from Entre Lagos, Chile


A visitor passes by a work by artist Maurizio Cattelan during the preview day of the Art 42 Basel fair and exhibition which will take place from June 15 to June 19, 2011 in Basel


An aerial view of a bridge that collapsed when a flood hit Tongcheng, in central China's Hebei province


Festival goers lie in the mud during the final day of the Isle of Wight Festival


British performance artist Alice Newstead hangs by shark fishing hooks to protest against the slaughtering of sharks for their fins in Hong Kong


Cast members rehearse on the giant floating stage on Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria, for the opera Andre Chenier by Italian musician Umberto Giordano. The opera, directed by British director Keith Warner, will have its premiere on July 20 at the annual Bregenz festival


Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, right, playing for a Tusk Trust team and Prince Harry playing for a Sentebale team shake hands at the end of a Sentebale Polo Cup match in Ascot


Christopher Winter (C) of team Koenig Pilsener and Philip Selkirk of team Maus Immobilien compete during the Julius Baer Beach Polo World Cup at Hoernum beach in Germany


Boats are rowed on Grand Canal in Venice, during the 37th edition of the 'Vogalonga', a non-competetive 32 km regatta around the Venetian lagoon


An artist performs at the two-day Kiev Fire Fest, Ukraine


Queen Elizabeth II unveils a statue of classic winner Yeats on day one of the Royal Ascot Meeting at Ascot Racecourse, Berkshire


Dining chairs designed by Jordanian Khaled Sharaan go on display in Amman before sending the collection to an auction house in London. The dining chairs collection - the Never ending Dinner - includes images which the artist considers to be controversial leaders who lived throughout modern history


A vendor carries plastic balls for sale as he walks down the streets in New Delhi


Officers from the municipal authorities of Huaian city perform songs at the Huaian Great Hall of the People in Huaian, Jiangsu Province of China. This year's celebrations will mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China


A boy plays with a sculpture of a cossack's horse during the celebrations for the 383rd anniversary of the foundation of the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk