One of the best things about flowers is that they are loved and celebrated around the globe. Whether you’re in Colombia, Belgium, or Canada, flowers are used to symbolize beauty, love, and nature. We all agree that flowers are a universal language that transcends borders.
If you’ve been eager to cross some destinations off your bucket list and do some floral-themed traveling in 2022, we’ve created a list of the most incredible flower shows, festivals, and parades around the world - with a brief idea of what to expect and history of each!
Tulip Festival
Amsterdam, Netherlands
March 24 - May 15, 2022
What to Expect: Bring your walking shoes, and make sure you’ve planned extra time to stay - because there are a LOT of flowers to see during this season in Amsterdam! This festival kicks off Spring in Holland and lasts much longer than a traditional festival. There are actually several flower events to attend during this time. We’ve listed the top must-see three:
There are also other ways you can experience tulips in the area. For example, you can plan a visit to tour a real tulip farm or take a helicopter ride over the fields to get the most amazing aerial photos. There’s also so much more to do in Amsterdam, like visit museums, and sight-see around their beautiful city.
A Brief History: The idea of the tulip display around Holland was initiated by a woman named Lida Rogers, at a Women’s Literary Club meeting in 1927. She wanted Holland to adopt the tulip as its flower since it had close ties with the Netherlands. She even introduced the idea of a one-day festival celebrating the flower.
Lida called the festival “Tulip Time,” and in 1928, the Mayor purchased 100,000 tulip bulbs from the Netherlands to be planted in parks and other areas of the city. In Spring 1929, thousands of tulips bloomed around the city, and Holland started inviting outsiders to come to see the tulips in May.
In 1933, the very first “Tulip Time” office opened and incorporated festivities along with the sightseeing. It became a nationally known, nine-day event that everyone looked forward to each year, up until the mid-’30s when they had to stop during WWII. After the war, in 1946, the festival came back strong, with the same activities, but only lasted four days. This went on until the mid-’80s, where talks began to extend the festival. To this day they continue to update and change the festival’s length, events, and activities offered.
Plan Your Visit:
RHS Chelsea Flower Show
London, England
May 24 - 28, 2022
What to Expect: Get absolutely blown away by the most prestigious flower show in the world! With around 160,000 visitors each year, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show is the place to see the cutting-edge design, show-stopping floral displays, and everything you need to know about gardening, gadgets, and techniques. There are over 500 exhibitors from all around the world who attend, with 100 exhibitors in the Great Pavilion alone (mainly from nurseries and florists,) and over 250 shopping stands.
A Brief History: This event did not start out where it is now, on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea. The very first show held by the Royal Horticultural Society of London was in 1827 in Chiswick. This location was not easily accessible by railway at the time, so in 1861, they moved it to Kensington Gardens.
After a few more cancellations and new locations, their forever location was sought out by nurseryman Sir Harry Veitch. He found the perfect spot, a large site on the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in between Sloane Square and the River Thames.
1913 kicked off the first show at this permanent location, where Bonsai was first displayed, rock gardens, and more beautiful plants and techniques were discovered and the rest is history! The Chelsea Flower Show just celebrated their 100th birthday in 2013, where they crowned the Geranium “Rozanne” the Chelsea Plant of the Century!
Plan Your Visit:
Canadian Tulip Festival
Ottawa, Canada
May 13 - 23, 2022
What to Expect: Take a beautiful stroll through Commissioners Park at Dow’s Lake among fields of hundreds of breeds of breathtaking tulips. They will be celebrating their 70th Anniversary next year, with a Platinum Jubilee Celebration!
A Brief History: After the Second World War, the Dutch gifted the Canadians a historic Royal gift of tulips, as a way to symbolize international peace and friendship. The Canadian Tulip Festival was established soon after, in 1953 to commemorate the role of the Canadian troops in the liberation of the Netherlands and Europe, as well as the birth of Dutch Princess Margriet in Ottawa during the Second World War - who was the only royal ever born in Canada!
Plan Your Visit:
Chiang Mai Flower Festival
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Estimated Dates: February 4 - 6, 2022
What to Expect: Streets and parks covered in flower decorations around every corner! Every February, for three days, residents and visitors of Chiang Mai are immersed in a world of colorful blooms. There are all kinds of floral events happening in the streets, from exhibitions, contests, parades, a beauty contest, (where Miss Flower Bloom & Miss International Flower Bloom are crowned) food, entertainment, and more!
A Brief History: The festival started in the 1970s as a fun local event, which quickly turned into an event that attracts visitors from around the world.
Plan Your Visit:
La Rose Flower Festival
Saint Lucia, Caribbean
August 30, 2022
(Right photo courtesy of stlucia-history.com)
What to Expect: The first flower festival of the year in Saint Lucia! Every year, residents host two flower festivals, and La Rose Flower Festival kicks off the celebration in late August, honoring the rose. Locals who believe the rose is the flower that represents their history come out, dressed in red, and create stunning displays made of roses.
La Marguerite Flower Festival
Saint Lucia, Caribbean
October 17, 2022
(Left photo courtesy of caribbeanevents.com)
What to Expect: You’ll need to dress in purple to fit into this flower festival! Saint Lucians observe this day as “Fete La Marguerite.” This is the second of the two flower festivals held annually in Saint Lucia. You’ll find beautiful displays of the Marguerite flower, many locals singing their traditional songs, and more cultural events that represent the life and history of Saint Lucia.
A Brief History: These two festivals are held due to a historic rivalry among the communities of Saint Lucia. The second festival to “La Rose” is “La Marguerite,” which is held by those who believe the Marguerite flower should be the representative of Saint Lucia, not the rose. Both festivals are beautiful displays of allegiance to the flower chosen, along with festivities that are rich in local history and heritage.
Plan Your Visit:
Keukenhof Gardens
Lisse, Netherlands
March 24 - May 15, 2022
What to Expect: An extravagant display tribute to the icon of Holland, the tulip! Over 800 different types of tulips bloom in Keukenhof, totaling over three million tulips in total. Stroll through the gardens at your own pace, while taking all the photos you can! They are planning to welcome everyone back in person in 2022, after two years of virtual tulip tours due to COVID - this time with over seven million tulips!
A Brief History: In 1949, a group of 20 leading flower bulb growers and exporters came together with a plan to use the Keukenhof Castle estate (built in 1641) to exhibit spring-flowering bulbs. The park opened to the public in 1950 and was an instant success - with over 236,000 visitors in the first year alone!
Plan Your Visit:
Epcot Flower & Garden Festival
Orlando, Florida
Estimated Dates: March 2 - July 4, 2022
What to Expect: So much!! Any day at Epcot, you can expect fun, educational rides, beautiful landscaping, and adventurous foods - but during the Flower & Garden Festival, the park takes on a whole different look and feel. Surround yourself with beautiful gardens, topiary displays of your favorite Disney characters, outdoor shows and food, and floral exhibits.
A Brief History: EPCOT is Walt Disney World’s second theme park, and stands for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.” Epcot opened to the public in 1982 and was originally a vision of Disney’s to be an actual city. After his death, the company decided to create a larger theme park dedicated to his vision.
A combination of Future World and World Showcase is what Epcot is today. This is why they host annual festivals there throughout the park, from the Food & Wine Festival to the Flower & Garden Festival, it’s a way to celebrate and showcase the beauty of nature and different cultures around the world.
Plan Your Visit:
Dubai Miracle Garden
Dubailand, Dubai (United Arab Emirates)
Reopening in November 2021 - April 2022
What to Expect: Enormous floral displays, a butterfly garden, entertainment, and dining are just a few of the fun activities for guests who attend the Dubai Miracle Garden. The Dubai Miracle Garden is the world’s largest natural flower garden, with over 150 million flowers in full bloom, throughout 72,000 square miles.
A Brief History: The Dubai Miracle Garden was launched in 2013 on Valentine’s Day! It has won many awards since opening, and even broken some Guinness World Records! In 2013, it was declared the world’s largest vertical garden. Their Airbus A380 flower structure is also listed by Guinness as the largest flower structure in the world. Lastly, it is home to the tallest topiary sculpture in the world - which was created to look like the character every household knows, Mickey Mouse!
Plan Your Visit:
Brussels Flower Carpet
Brussels, Belgium
August 11 - 15, 2022
What to Expect: An ephemeral show on the world’s most beautiful central square at the Grand-Place in Brussels, Belgium. The Flower Carpet offers a chance every other year to stroll across a jewel of Gothic architecture, the Grand-Place, and inhale the scent of over 500,000 flowers laid carefully by a hundred volunteers (in less than eight hours!) within the center square. Head on up to the balcony of the Town Hall, where you can get an amazing aerial view of the carpet’s begonias, dahlias, grass, and bark. Enjoy a concert each evening of the event with an accompanying light show!
A Brief History: These carpets started off as rugs, by Etienne Stautemas, a graduate of the Horticultural College of Ghent in the 1950’s. He loved begonias, which is what he worked with while creating his beloved carpets. His team went on to create 180 carpets displayed in locations all over the world - with the most extravagant and detailed one in the Grand-Place of Brussels! The first Brussels flower carpet open to the public was in 1971!
Plan Your Visit:
Corso Zundert
Zundert, Netherlands
Dates TBA: September 2022
What to Expect: Witness the magic of the largest flower parade in the world! Get delightfully overwhelmed by the amount of beauty, flowers, and details that go into each float, created purely by volunteers. “Corso Zundert is all about seeing and, in that, believing.”
Twenty larger-than-life floats are created out of flowers and compete with each other on who built the most beautiful one. A professional jury makes their decision during the parade each year. The cars are so big there’s nothing to pull them, but each has a team of pushers guiding the float down the streets. These pushers consider it a job of honor!
A Brief History: Corso Zundert started back in 1936, but it was nothing like it is today! It was originally founded to celebrate Queen Wilhemina’s birthday with flower-covered bicycles and horse-drawn carriages. It grew and the designs became more intricate each year! Only dahlias are used to decorate the floats - with over 81 acres of land dedicated to growing 600,000 dahlia varieties just for this event!
Plan Your Visit:
Pasadena Rose Parade
Pasadena, California
January 1, 2022
What to Expect: For millions of people around the world, the Rose Parade is an iconic New Year’s Day celebration to attend or tune into each year. The parade features floats with every inch of them decorated in flowers and other natural materials, as well as marching bands and equestrian units. The parade travels five and a half miles down Colorado Blvd. in front of excited spectators.
The theme for the upcoming parade is “Dream. Believe. Achieve.” which is a celebration of education and its ability to “open doors, open minds and change lives.”
A Brief History: In 1890, Professor Charles F. Holder at a Valley Hunt Club meeting (who sponsored the first Tournament of Roses) announced at a meeting, “In New York, people are buried in snow. Here our flowers are blooming and our oranges are about to bear. Let’s hold a festival to tell the world about our paradise.” And so the Rose Parade was born!
Plan Your Visit:
Battle of the Flowers: Jersey
English Channel of Island of Jersey
August 11 - 12, 2022
What to Expect: A carnival parade of flowers! The festivities include music, funfairs, dancers, majorettes, and, of course, floats covered in flowers. It is one of the biggest floral carnivals in Europe and has become a staple in Jersey’s history.
A Brief History: This floral parade and carnival were inaugurated in 1902, as a celebration of the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
The “Battle of the Flowers” originally consisted of the participants pulling flowers from their floats and throwing them to the spectators, in hope of one back! This part has been long abandoned, but the name still stands strong!
Plan Your Visit:
Battle of the Flowers: Ventimiglia (Battaglia di Fiori)
Ventimiglia, Italy
Dates TBA: June 2022
(Photo courtesy of hotelmorandi.com)
What to Expect: A dozen floats participating in the Battle of the Flowers for judgment, adorned with a mosaic of flowers and other vegetable materials. The night before, they hold a night parade that debuts the flowered floats! This parade ends with a gorgeous fireworks display. Sunday afternoon is when the battle begins - the floats head down the streets followed by bands and folk groups, and the floats throw thousands of flowers at each other!
A Brief History: The first editions of the Battaglia di Fiori in Ventimiglia date back to the early twentieth century, organized to celebrate the beginning of Spring. Around 1930 is when the parade became more official and had rules for entering.
Plan Your Visit:
There are more Battle of the Flower parades that happen annually around the world, like the Batalla de Flores Festival in Spain, and the Battle of the Flowers in San Antonio, Texas. Make sure to check and see if one is happening near you!
We hope you were able to find a floral-filled event you can add to your calendar!