There was also a carnival parade in Armagh city centre, accompanied by an afternoon of music.

BBC: St Patrick's Day: Thousands at parades in NI

The New Year's Eve Winter Carnival saw a parade inspired by Norse and Viking stories and North East traditions.

BBC: Thousands enjoy Newcastle New Year's Eve parade

Spanning the weekends before and after Feb. 29, the celebration will include an ice hockey game, wine tasting, craft show, concert and carnival, and a parade, party and reception on leap day.

WSJ: For Some, All in a Leap Day's Work

Sunset Rubdown's Spencer Krug is known primarily for his role as co-leader of the masterful carnival-rock band Wolf Parade.

NPR: Scenes from a Jaunty Rock Opera

This year over 500, 000 people flocked to take part in Europe's biggest homosexual spectacle, the Christopher Street Day Parade not to be confused with the city's yearly and mainly heterosexual Love Parade and its rivals, the Fuck Parade and the Erotica Carnival.

ECONOMIST: German gays

The city spread out its annual Carnival celebration this year, altering the parade schedule to allow for a pause on the days immediately surrounding Super Bowl Sunday.

CNN: 'Super Gras' a big score for New Orleans

As Rio de Janeiro's carnival gets under way, its oldest street parade has drawn an estimated 1.5m revellers.

BBC: Thousands of carnival revellers on a Rio de Janeiro street

Unionists are no longer represented on Belfast City Council's St Patrick's Day Carnival Committee since a flags dispute shortly before the parade led to their withdrawal earlier this year.

BBC: News | Northern Ireland | Rivals plan separate St Patrick's Day parades

Carnival booths appeared in 1816, the folk costume and riflemen's parade followed in 1835, while the brewers first paraded in 1887.

BBC: Oktoberfest turns 200

The goddesses of Carnival reign over a half-mile-long concrete runway that makes up the parade ground in a spectacle that veterans say gets more risque every year.

NPR: Carnival in Rio: A Party Like No Other