Karneval in Bellinzona – Im Reich von König Rabadan
Description
February 27 - March 4, 2025
Celebrate the 162nd edition of the carnival in Bellinzona!
Bellinzona is a carnival stronghold. During the carnival, which is called “Rabadan” here, which means “noise” in the Piedmontese dialect, over 150,000 people celebrate exuberantly on the streets and in the festival tents. This makes Bellinzona the largest carnival in Switzerland after Basel.
The leader of the giant wheel is the king, who is elected by the local carnival society. On “Dirty Thursday”, the mayor of Bellinzona hands him the (symbolic) key to the city gates. After that, the fools call the shots in the Ticino capital for five days.
The parade of children from Bellinzona and the surrounding area takes place on Friday. On Saturday, Guggenmusik bands from Ticino and German-speaking Switzerland perform concerts until late into the night. The highlight of Rabadan is the big parade on Sunday. Around fifty floats and Guggen groups take part in the so-called Corteo.
Other fixed components of the Rabadan are mask competitions, rope pulling tournaments, street theater and risotto dinners. Food and drink are well catered for in the numerous festival tents. The party goes on until the early hours of the morning in the “Festhütte Bellinzona”.