Goway Groups

Sporting Events

Asia

Yueyang International Dragon Boat Festival

South Lake, Yueyang
June
This is an ANNUAL event.

Every year, on the fifth Day of the fifth lunar month, Yueyang commemorates Qu Yuan, a great poet of ancient times, by staging a Dragon Boat Festival. Over 20 teams from the United States, Canada, Australia and countries throughout South East Asia and other parts of the world participate. Besides the races there's the chance to sample zongzi (a pyramid-shaped dumpling made of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves), drink local wines, enjoy folk performances and hang up Artemisia Argyi (mugwort leaf).

Rugby World Cup 2019

Japan
September 6 - October 20, 2019

RWC 2019 Japan - Growing the Game in the World's Most Populous Region
Rugby World Cup not only celebrates the spirit of Rugby but also the diversity of cultures it brings together from all over the world. For the first time in the history of the Tournament, Rugby World Cup will experience an Asian infusion when it is hosted by Japan in 2019. Japan currently has over 120,000 registered Rugby players, the six largest playing numbers of any country and has the highest number of clubs of any country in the world. Although the playing numbers in Japan are high, Asia as a region has 60% of the world's population but only 12% of the world's Rugby players. A successful Tournament has the opportunity to excite and engage a new wave of players and fans.

RWC 2019 will see Rugby played on a number of globally recognised venues, with the semi-finals and the Final scheduled to take place in the Yokohama stadium which hosted the FIFA 2002 World Cup Final (when Brazil beat Germany 2-0).

Europe

Serie A In Italy

Italy
August to May
This is an ANNUAL event.

Every Italian soccer team plays the game with much zeal and determination. One thing so noticeable about the Italian players is the fact that they have the ability to inject passion to each game they play. It has been said that Italian soccer is the most passionate league being played in the world. Serie A (officially known as the Lega Calcio Serie A TIM Telecom Italia Mobile for sponsorship reasons) is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top echelon of the Italian football league system. It is widely regarded as one of the elite leagues of the footballing world.

The Monaco Grand Prix

Monaco
May
This is an ANNUAL event.

The Monaco Grand Prix is one of the world's greatest and most challenging motor-racing events; the Monaco Grand Prix is at present, the last 'street course' remaining in the Formula One calendar. The Monaco Grand Prix is staged around the narrow, winding streets of Monte Carlo. The main attraction of the Monaco Grand Prix is the proximity of the speeding Formula One cars to the race spectators.

The twisting 77-lap circuit offers incalculable opportunities for spectators to witness the thrill of screaming engines, smoking tires and the genius of the drivers over the 263-kilometer race on a course that allows no margin for error.

World Police & Fire Games 2013

Belfast, Northern Ireland
August 1-10, 2013

The 2013 World Police and Fire Games are hosted by Northern Ireland’s police and fire services. The Games will see thousands of international firefighters and police officers compete against one another across a range of disciplines. 25,000 visitors are expected to flock in to participate and/or watch the games.

Latin America

Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix

Sao Paulo, Brazil
October/ November
This is an ANNUAL event.

Brazilians have a passion for motor racing with the country producing many Formula One champion drivers. During the weekend of the Grand Prix the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo is invaded by racing fans from all over the world.

South Pacific

The Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix

Phillip Island, Australia
October
This is an ANNUAL event.

Phillip Island is Australia's home of motorcycle racing and host to perhaps the best round of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix (or MotoGP) each year. Located 120km southeast of Melbourne, it's been the picturesque setting of some of the hardest fought, most razor close battles seen in recent years. The biggest stars in the galaxy of MotoGP champions dazzle at Phillip Island. Catch a glimpse of local heroes Casey Stoner, Ant West and wet-track specialist Chris Vermeulen, as well as the international heroes chasing the title.

Melbourne Cup

Melbourne, Australia
November 1, 2011 and November 6, 2012
This is an ANNUAL event.

It is no exaggeration to say that the Melbourne Cup is the 'race that stops the nation'. On the first Tuesday of November each year, Australians tune in by radio and television or in person to Flemington Racecourse for the running of the 3,200 metre race which is televised to over 350 million people.

Arts & Cultural Events

Asia

Songkran Festival

Thailand
April
This is an ANNUAL event.

One of the high spots of the Thai calendar is the annual New Year celebration, or Songkran, which falls on or around April 13, when the sun moves into Aries. This national holiday lasts for three days or more. The word 'Songkran' originates from the Sanskrit meaning 'beginning of the solar year'. The holiday-loving Thais therefore get to celebrate New Year three times each year: the Western New Year on January 1, the Chinese New Year in February, and the Thai New Year in April. Traditionally, Thais visit temples at this time of year to offer food to the monks and to participate in bathing ceremonies for Buddha images. At home, young people pour scented water into the hands of their parents and elders as a mark of respect and to receive the blessing of the older folk.

Another custom is the releasing of small fish into rivers and canals. This merit-making act is thought to come from the old practice of collecting small fish from dried out pools, to keep and later release back into the wild. These days, Songkran has turned into a water-throwing funfest, in which anyone and everyone is liable to get thoroughly drenched-a blessed relief in this, the hottest season of the year. The water-throwing custom may have come from the mythical belief that sea serpents or 'naga' bring on the rains by spouting water from the sea. Water throwing may therefore have been a rain-making custom to guarantee ample water for next year's crops.

Visakha Puja Day

Thailand
Early June
This is an ANNUAL event.

You do not have to be a Buddhist to visit Thailand and see how the Royal Kingdom of Thailand celebrates Visakha Puja Day on the 15 the Day of the waxing moon of the sixth month. Buddhists around the world celebrate Buddha's benevolence in sharing the fruit of his enlightenment to the world at large, in the hope of ending suffering in the world. If you come to Thailand during this time, you will experience meditation everywhere you go. People wearing white outfits gather at designated places and do their meditation, which is said to do a lot of good to their mind clarity.

Loi Krathong Day

All Over Thailand
Late November
This is an ANNUAL event.

This is one of the most popular festivals of Thailand celebrated annually on the full-moon Day of the twelfth lunar month. "Loy" means "To Float" and a "krathong" is a lotus-shaped vessel made of banana leaves. The festival starts in the evening when there is a full moon in the sky. People of all walks of life carry their Krathongs to the nearby rivers. After lighting candles and joss-sticks and making a wish, they gently place the Krathongs on the water and let them drift away till they go out of sight. For visitors to Thailand, the Loy Krathong Festival is an occasion not to be missed.

Chinese New Year

Various cities throughout Asia
Early to Mid January
This is an ANNUAL event.

Come and celebrate the Chinese New Year in all its glory in most areas of Asia. Mainland China and Hong Kong are the center points for the week-long celebrations, but China Towns in Bangkok, Singapore and Malaysia also have major celebrations. Experience Chinese culture, cuisine and mingle with the friendly Asian people.

Latin America

Tapati Rapa Nui

Easter Island, Chile
January - February
This is an ANNUAL event.

Tapati Rapa Nui is a two-week long celebration of Rapa Nui's rich cultural heritage that takes place at the end of January or beginning of February each year. Though it was originally created as a music and poetry festival in 1975, those who participated in the festival realized its potential to showcase the islanders' Polynesian heritage in more fun, diverse, and exciting ways.

Rio Carnival

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
February
This is an ANNUAL event.

Rio Carnival is a wild 4 day celebration, 40 days before Easter. It officially starts on Saturday and finishes on Fat Tuesday with the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday after which one is supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures. Carnival with all its excesses, celebrated as a profane event, can be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh. It usually happens in February, the hottest month in the Southern Hemisphere, when the Rio summer is at its peak. There are carnival celebrations in virtually every corner of Brazil, the best-known ones taking place in Recife together with the neighbouring Olinda (in the North of Brazil) and Salvador. But the biggest and most famous carnival is undoubtedly the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.

Salvador Carnaval

Salvador, Brazil
February
This is an ANNUAL event.

Brazil's second largest Carnaval is characterized by slow moving parades of bands atop long trucks loaded with speakers. Attendees can pay an additional cost to dance alongside the truck in a roped-off area alongside the moving truck. Salvador's historic Pelourinho old town hosts some of Carnaval's parades and concerts.

La Diablada (Devil's Carnival)

Oruro, Bolivia
February
This is an ANNUAL event.

This is a wild annual festival featuring a spectacular parade of devils, performed by dancers in garish masks and costumes. Revellers then gather in the town square for a thunderous exchange of water bombs. Gringos beware!

Barranquilla Carnaval

Barranquilla, Colombia
February/March
This is an ANNUAL event.

Barranquilla is famous for its annual carnival held 40 days before Easter week. It is one of the oldest in Latin America and is less commercial than the one in Rio. There are three days of intense revelry with dancing and singing amongst friendly and enthusiastic crowds, spectacular float processions, parades and beauty queens.

Semana Santa

Antigua, Guatemala
April
This is an ANNUAL event.

Semana Santa (or Holy Week) is the annual Easter celebrations where hundreds dress in purple robes for daily religious processions in remembrance of the Crucifixion. Local streets are covered in elaborate and colourful designs made from sawdust, sand and flower petals. These designs are destroyed as the processions trample over them.

Inti Raymi

Cuzco, Peru
June 24th
This is an ANNUAL event.

Inti Raymi (The Festival of the Sun) is the ancient Incan religious festival in honour of the god Inti, and marking the winter solstice. Today's festivities involve a procession from Qoricancha to the Incan ruins at Sacsayhuaman where huge crowds await. Following speeches to the gods the procession continues to Cuzco. On the night before Inti Raymi the Plaza de Armas is crowded with processions and food stalls.

10th Annual World Tango Festival

Buenos Aires, Argentina
August 13th 2011 (18 days)
This is an ANNUAL event.

Born in the brothels of Buenos Aires, tango embodies, perhaps more than anything else, the brooding sensuality and passion of the Argentine people. A musical and dance genre which, at its best can evoke the eroticism of a Klimt painting or a Moore sculpture, tango is currently enjoying a thrilling revival in Buenos Aires. And this August the city celebrates its 10th annual World Tango Festival.

Billed by its organizers as 'the world's biggest tango extravaganza', it is, in fact, two events in one. It starts with La Festival - a nine-day celebration of tango shows and recitals, classes and milongas (dances), book signings, and film screenings at venues across the city - before morphing into the Mundial de Tango, the Tango World Championship, which pits the world's finest tango dancers against one another.

Festival Of The Black Christ

Portobelo, Panama
October 21st
This is an ANNUAL event.

The origin of the Black Christ statue is not clear, but one story says that it arrived on a ship bound for Cartagena, and that the statue washed ashore after the ship sank in a storm. The annual pilgrimage began after 1821, when during a cholera epidemic the residents of Portobelo were spared after praying to the statue. The festival these days includes the statue being carried through the streets, eating, drinking and dancing throughout the night.

Founding Of Quito

Quito, Ecuador
December 6th
This is an ANNUAL event.

Celebrated the first week of December, Quito takes on a festive spirit as the locals take in bullfights, watch parades, attend street dances, and ride around Quito atop Chivas (open-air party buses complete with live music and drinks).

South Pacific

Moomba Waterfest Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia
March 10-12, 2012
This is an ANNUAL event.

Held over the Labour Day long weekend, Moomba takes place on the banks of the Yarra River and is designed to offer fun for all the family. Join in and celebrate the city's colourful, energetic life at Melbourne's largest, most treasured community festival. The Moomba Festival is a big part of our city's life, and is looked forward to by young and old. Moomba embraces everyone, and is a wonderful opportunity for you and yours to come and have a great time by the banks of the Yarra River.

Traditional highlights of the festival include the spectacle of our beloved Moomba Parade or the antics of the hilarious Birdman Rally where contestants aim to fly across the river by leaping off a four-metre platform with wings attached to their costumes.. All for a good cause. Kids will wonder at the delights of the Children's Garden presented by Ranger Roo, while bigger 'kids' will dig the awesome live music and adrenalin pumping water sports.

The Royal Adelaide Show

Adelaide, Australia
September
This is an ANNUAL event.

The Royal Adelaide Show is South Australia's biggest annual event and features everything from carnival rides to handicrafts, cookery and champion livestock. Almost half the State's population makes the trip to Adelaide Showground for this important social event. Taking centre stage is the grand parade, where champion livestock is proudly shown off. Entertainment includes dance and gymnastics displays, woodchopping competitions, daredevil motorbike riding, precision driving teams, pig racing, sheepdog trials and fireworks.

Australia's National Day

Sydney, Australia
January 26th
This is an ANNUAL event.

The largest single public event in the country takes place in Sydney on Australia's national day, 26 January. Tall ship and ferry boat races, military flyover and free outdoor concerts bring Sydney Harbour to life, while fireworks dominate the night sky over Darling Harbour.

Fun & Unusual Events

Asia

Surin Elephant Round-Up

Surin, Thailand
November 20-21
This is an ANNUAL event.

The Surin Elephant Round-Up brings thousands to the Sri Narong Stadium, where some 250 trained elephants are assembled. The spectacular shows include elephant football, tug-of-war, demonstrations of log-pulling skills and a wonderful parade of elephants outfitted for medieval warfare. The fun begins in the week preceding the main event, with a parade through the streets and a market out by the stadium, which continues all week. On Friday morning, the "elephant breakfast" is the biggest mass feeding of elephants anywhere in the world, and many streets are lined with food for the giant animals to eat. The main event on Saturday and Sunday features a series of parades and demonstrations examining all aspects of a working elephant's life, and concludes with a 2000-strong parade, with elephants and participants in costume.

Europe

The Running Of The Bulls

Pamplona, Spain
July 7-14
This is an ANNUAL event.

Every year from July 7th-14th thousands pack into Pamplona to start Spain's most famous bull-running fiesta to honour Navarre capital's patron saint, San Fermin. Spain stages more than 3,000 fiestas (festivals) each year but the 7 days of bull-running are the favourite in terms of spectacle and excitement.

La Tomatina: The World's Largest Tomato Fight

Bunol, Spain
Last Wednesday in August
This is an ANNUAL event.

Each year in Bunol, Spain (in the Valencia region) the world's largest tomato fight commences. La Tomatina is the ultimate food fight. It is a festival for which people travel thousands of miles and all for the pleasure of pelting, and being pelted, by tomatoes. What a blast!

The Oktoberfest

Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Late September to early October
This is an ANNUAL event.

The Oktoberfest is a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Bavaria, Germany during late September (and running to early October). It is one of the most famous events in the city and the world's largest fair, with some six million people attending every year, and is an enjoyable event with an important part of Bavarian culture. Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modeled after the Munich event. Oktoberfest biers are the beers that have been served at the event in Munich since 1818, and are supplied by 6 breweries known as the Big Six: Spaten, Augustiner , Hofbräu, Paulaner and Hacker-Pschorr.

The Munich Oktoberfest, traditionally, takes place during the sixteen days up to and including the first Sunday in October. In 1990, the schedule was modified in response to German reunification so that if the first Sunday in October falls on the 1st or 2nd, then the festival will go on until October 3 German Unity Day. Thus, the festival is now 17 days when the 1st Sunday is October 2 and 18 days when it is October 1. The festival is held on an area named the Theresienwiese (field, or meadow, of Therese), often called d' Wiesn for short.

Visitors also eat huge amounts of food, most of it traditional hearty fare such as Hendl (chicken ), Schweinsbraten (roast pork ), Haxn (knuckle of pork), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstel (sausages) along with Brezel (Pretzel ), Knödeln (potato or bread dumplings), Käsespätzle (cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Blaukraut (red cabbage ) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a fatty, spiced cheese-butter concoction) and Weisswurst (a white sausage).

South Pacific

New Year's Eve Celebrations

Sydney, Australia
December 31st
This is an ANNUAL event.

Because of the time zone situation it's the first big bash of the year. On Sydney's waterfront, with the graceful Sydney Bridge as a background, more than a million people gather to see the breathtaking display as 80,000 fireworks create a dazzling explosion of pyrotechnics. Over 600 million more watch the satellite broadcast worldwide. Sydney's New Year is one of the world's biggest free public events.

Floral & Agricultural Events

Asia

Chiang Mai Flower Festival

Chiang Mai, Thailand
February 3-5, 2012
This is an ANNUAL event.

During the fragrant Chiang Mai Flower Festival, sculptures of temples, animals and even scenes from the Ramayana (the Hindu stories of the Gods) are made from flowers and paraded through the streets of this beautiful northern city. It's a real treat to watch, since more than 3000 species of orchid are in bloom and many of these are on display. Look out for the Damask Rose, a special variety found in Chiang Mai, as well as yellow and white chrysanthemums. Apart from the parades themselves, there are endless floral displays, local handicrafts sales and beauty pageants.

The North of Thailand is famous for an abundance of flowering plants, especially temperate zone species, which burst into full bloom towards the end of the cool season. The city (also known as the "Rose of the North") feels like a beautiful, slow-paced northern town even though it is the second-largest in Thailand. Many visitors stay before visiting the hill tribes and going trekking.

Culinary

Latin America

Vendimia Wine Festival

Mendoza, Argentina
March
This is an ANNUAL event.

Argentina's premier wine growing region celebrates the wine harvest over a four day weekend. It is filled with concerts and parades, and ends with the queen's coronation.