2017 Nice Carnival; a much anticipated event

On February 23, 1873, the first Nice Carnival was created. Since then, the tradition has been perpetuated.

A float parade (with 16 carts) with gigantic animated characters, flower battles, floats decorated with 4-5 000 flowers, some 1 000 musicians and dancers, fireworks... animate the city for 15 days.

The city experiences a whole period of fiest and entertainment. Nice Carnival is one of the most important carnivals in the world. Every year, this not-to-be-missed event takes place in February over a 15-day period. Its theme changes every year.

This tradition has become very popular worldwide and it attracts an important crowd each year.

Nice Carnival is a festive event that gathers people in joy and felicity and that emphasizes on the region's patrimony. It has a srong impact on the local economy: Visitors and locals alike stroll in the most emblematic parts of the city (Promenade des Anglais, Place Massena), dine in restaurants, shop ans have fun in most of Nice's establishments.

Carnavalists employ locally and use local products to create floats, costumes and decoration.

This year, the concept remains the same with the parade and the flower battles over a 15-day period, but some adjustments needed to be made with regards to the July 14 terrorist attack.

This winter, all activities will take place on Place Massena. Flower battles which traditionally occured on the Promenade des Anglais will be confined this coming year on Place Massena.

For a better security, it appeared more appropriate to concentrate activities on a same place with limited designated control access

Classified as a major event, Nice Carnival benefits from tight security measures. This year, an additional 90 000 security officers and policemen and reinforced safety measures (reinforced control access, bags verification, seizure of hazardous objects...) will contribute to secure and optimum safety for Carnival participants.

For safety reasons, there won't be any fire or fireworks this winter. Rest assure the city is taking every measure to secure your safety during the carnival. Come and enjoy the magic this winter with a very much talked about theme dedicated to energy.

In order to restore a positive image of the city, Nice Tourism Office has planned a communication strategy reaching social medias #IloveNice #Nicemoments #cotedazurnow.

This action puts forwards the beauty and the cultural richness of the destination. A "wall" allows to experience real people's moments in real situations and in real time. This campaign aims to reinforce locals'self confidence.

People in Nice are still traumatised by the July 14th attack and they need to be positive again about their city. The communication campaign also targets travellers, showing them the unique beauty of the region.

Nice Tourism Office also wants to seduce a younger crowd and to invite them to participate in the Carnival festivities.

To reach their goal, they implemented a communication campaign using vivid Pixar animation-type visuals, they created a young character to symbolize the carnival spirit and they have thought of modern music and interactive shows during the parade to please teenagers and young people alike.

Follow up is made to ensure the attandance of travel groups and MICE. The Regional Committee of Tourism and Tourism Offices work hand in hand to seduce this category of travellers.

Obviously, the city and the region need this event to enrich not only their cultural identity but also the economy.

Nice Carnival is the only event of the season to compete with tourism in ski stations or sun destiations. The community and the region feel its their civic duty to maintain and to promote this identitary event and to defend France's values of "celebrating" and "joie de vivre", especially within a crisis context.

Stay tuned.

For a French version of the story, click: www.tourmag.com/Le-Carnaval-de-Nice-2017-un-evenement-tres-attendu_a83650.html