12 Best Festivals in April Around the World in 2025
There are loads of great festivals in April to go to. It’s the start of the big festival season in the western world, and it’s down to you to make the most of it!
Time to get that summer of festivals started with these wonderful April celebrations around the world!
April traditionally means Easter on this side of the world, and you know what Easter means aside from eggs and pancakes? Festivals!
The April festival calendar is a delight. Things are getting serious for the year from now on. If you want to start off your festival year right, then get yourself tickets to one of these, and get your friends involved too!
1. Beltane Fire Festival, Edinburgh
30th April 2025
Beltane is a Celtic festival once celebrated throughout the world by many different cultures. Beltane celebrations include bonfires, where people walk around or between them as part of purification rituals and to offer their wishes for fertility in this new season and bright shining fires against darkness as a symbolic reminder of light overcoming dark forces and hopefully bringing peace on earth.
The Beltane Fire Festival takes place annually at Calton Hill just outside Edinburgh’s city centre with thousands descending upon it every year from all over Europe. The celebration includes plenty more than fire though – there’s live music, dance performances, storytelling events and even an overnight campfire ceremony.
There are music performances throughout the park as well as traditional Highland Games such as tossing stones weighing 3lb each over your shoulder while running 7 yards backwards without turning round, jumping rope using alternate feet only and throwing hammers as far as possible.
2. Kanamara Matsura, Japan
6th April 2025
Kanamara Matsura is a small town that may seem like any other – but the population here has an unusual obsession. They worship Kanamata, who according to legend was once granted special powers by her lover after being badly injured in battle. Though she eventually died from these wounds and closed off access to this mystical power, it lives on through those who still honour her today – with giant wooden penises erected all around town as reminders of her legacy (though some locals claim they’re just for good luck).
The people of Kanamara Matsura have adopted their own strange tradition: erecting giant phallic symbols everywhere possible – from outside shops to residential homes – to pay homage not only spiritually but physically too.
The Kanamara Matsuri is celebrated in Japan and goes back for centuries. As one of the most important festivals in April it celebrates the penis, fertility, and good fortune which are all symbolised by a phallus shaped object called an ‘Ishibutai’.
The yearly celebration of this tradition takes place at Yasukuni Jinja Shrine where people come from across Japan to celebrate and to give thanks for protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
3. Coachella, USA
11th – 13th and 18th – 20th April 2025
Coachella Music Festival takes place in California and brings together some of the most popular musicians from around the world to perform.
Many people make Coachella their yearly festival pilgrimage as it’s hosted many famous artists like Beyoncé, Radiohead, Kanye West and Lady Gaga.
I loved my Coachella experience – check out the best things to do at Coachella here, as well as my top Coachella tips, and my Coachella drinking guide too.
The line up this year looks great!
4. New Orleans Jazz Festival, USA
24th April – 4th May 2025
The New Orleans Jazz Festival is one of the most important festivals in the USA.
It takes place at a beautiful venue called Riverfront Park with over 1,000 performances each year. The New Orleans Jazz Festival has been taking place since 1970 and celebrates jazz music from around the world as well as Louisiana culture.
You’ll feel the true unique New Orleans experience here with spicy Cajun NOLA food wafting, dancers, musicians and some real characters in the crowds.
Unfortunately when I went, in 2015, it was called off halfway through because of the rain. My lasting memory is Stevie Wonder on stage with a loudspeaker trying to get people to enjoy themselves while the muddy ground was turning to marsh and people were ankle (if not knee) deep in mud.
Great up till that point though – the atmosphere in New Orleans is incredible!
You can check out my favourite things to do in New Orleans here, and I’ve written a guide to visiting the New Orleans Jazz Festival too.
5. Snowbombing, Austria
7th – 12th April 2025
If you’re looking for a thrilling and unforgettable experience this winter, try the Snowbombing Festival in Austria. Taking place in Tyrol, the festival hosts over 1000 international artists from across all genres. You can enjoy live performances ranging from electro-swing to synthwave, as well as DJs spinning hip hop beats or techno mixes to your heart’s content.
Pack your winter outfits and get ready for your Snowbombing. With over 20 years of experience, this winter festival is not only full of fun activities but also tonnes of great music to enjoy from headliners. If you’re looking for something more low key then there are various bars with plenty of live DJs playing all day long too.
It’s also one of the coolest skiing festivals in Europe!
6. Seville Feria, Spain
6th – 11th May 2025
The Sevilla Feria is one of the most famous and historic festivals in Europe. It happens every year in April or May, with a major celebration on Saturday at La Plaza de España.
The Sevilla Plaza has been hosting this event for centuries, and it’s considered one of the world’s top 10 must-see events by Forbes Magazine. You’ll find people singing around gypsy fires called braziers while others dance across cobblestone streets alongside horses adorned in royal crowns or wide brimmed hats.
Attend and you can enjoy flamenco performances by some of Spain’s best dancers, dressed elegantly in traditional costume.
The Seville Feria was founded after a military conquest by King Alfonso X’s troops, in which he encouraged his soldiers to bring back their new-found loot from battle for an extravagant celebration with food, wine and dancing.
I went to the Seville Feria a few years ago and had a fabulous time – it’s such a unique festival.
7. Koningsdag, Netherlands
27th April 2025
Koningsdag, or ‘King’s Day’ is a national holiday in the Netherlands. It commemorates King Willem-Alexander’s accession to the throne and all are welcome into Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague for this day of celebration, regardless of their nationality or residence status.
Koningsdag gives people an opportunity to see first hand what Dutch culture looks like as well as sampling some traditional local food delicacies such as stroopwafels (literally translated ‘syrup waffle’), their famous cheeses, and bands and stages too.
READ MORE: The Best Music Festivals in Europe
8. Semana Santa, Spain
13th to 20th April 2025
Another of the most popular festivals in April is the Semana Santa. Depending on the year, it sometimes happens in March too.
Semana Santa is a week-long festival that celebrates the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The festivities typically begin on Palm Sunday, the week before Easter, with processions through cities where large groups carrying banners depicting scenes from biblical passages march in parades.
The Semana Santa celebration can be traced back to ancient times when pagans held rituals around this time of year for Spring Equinox celebrations honouring their gods’ rebirths after winter months.
The tradition then spread throughout Europe until finally reaching what would become modern-day Spain by way of Christianity on 5th century CE when King Recceswinth decreed that Semana Santa should be observed thereafter without exception under penalty of death!
9. Lotus Lantern Festival, South Korea
25th to 27th April 2025
The Lotus Lantern Festival in South Korea is a night-time festival that celebrates the coming of spring. While many people celebrate it traditionally with food, dancing and games, there’s also an enormous lantern sculpture measuring more than 18 metres tall.
At the Lotus Lantern Festival, a lantern is placed in each home and members of the community light them as darkness falls. These small bonfires are intended to show how much we yearn for peace from within our hearts with hopes that it will be achieved shortly thereafter on an international level.
The festival’s roots date back centuries before Christianity came to Korea when people wanted good luck during farming season by praying away evil spirits using many different methods – one being burning paper or oil lamps shaped like lotus flowers. Once Christianity took over, candles replaced these prior lights but they still had symbolic meaning behind their usage.
10. Songkran, Thailand
13th – 15th April 2025
Songkran is one of Thailand’s most famous and widely celebrated festivals, marking the Thai New Year. The festival usually takes place from April 13 to 15, although celebrations can extend for a week or more in some regions.
It’s originally rooted in Buddhist traditions, however Songkran has now become more of a social and cultural event in April that attracts locals as well as lots of tourists. International visitors tend to head to Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Phuket to partake in the festivities.
The most iconic part of the Songkran festival is the water fights that break out on the streets.
People arm themselves with water guns, hoses, or even buckets, and nobody is safe from getting soaked. The water fights symbolise the washing away of sins and bad luck from the previous year, offering a fresh start.
In a more traditional context, it’s also a time to visit temples and offer food to monks, as well as to wash Buddha statues as a sign of respect and good fortune for the year ahead.
11. Fête de la Coquille St. Jacques
26 – 27th April 2025
The Festival of the Scallop is a charming French event celebrated in various coastal towns in April, particularly in regions like Brittany and Normandy. As you might have guessed by the name, it’s all about the scallop, as well as maritime traditions and the coastal communities.
There are cooking demonstrations by chefs, tastings where you can try freshly prepared scallops in various forms, and even boat trips where you can learn about scallop fishing. There’s also market stalls abound with freshly caught scallops, often sold by the very fishermen who harvested them.
12. Cape Town Jazz Festival, South Africa
25th to 26th April 2025
For over twenty years, the Cape Town Jazz Festival has attracted nearly 40,000 people each year to its five major venues. It features music by dozens of musicians from around the world, like South Africa, the UK, USA, and India.
Performers play Jazz, R&B, Jazz fusion, Afro-fusion, rap, gospel, drumming and percussion, Latin jazz, with headliners like Chaka Khan. In addition, you can find intimate performances from solo artists to major stages with 20-piece bands.