Carnival of Binche 'not to be missed'

23.10.2008
Those looking for a new experience on the continent in the coming year may want to try Belgium"s most famous carnival in Binche, south of capital Brussels.

Held next February from the 22nd to the 24th, the Belgian Tourist Office noted that the event was now listed on the Unesco Heritage list.

It was noted that hundreds of participants dressed as characteristic Gilles travel to the town"s Grand Place to perform a dance on Shrove Tuesday.

A Gille, it added, was a local carnival character which dresses in the colours of the Belgian flag - red, yellow and black - decorated with items such as lions, stars and crowns as well as heavy and loud bells.

Carnival organisers said that the event"s reputation was down to original and authentic tradition, adding that "it has always been held on the feast traditional days and the preparation within the families and the carnival societies involved have merely changed for centuries".

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