Can you hear that? It's the sound of over 200.000 people dancing in the streets of Coburg! The International Samba Festival returns to bring Brazilian beats to the town in Bavaria.
International Samba Festival Coburg
What a party for dance lovers this is! With 12 headlining international artists and over 3.000 particpants, or Sambistas as they are known, this three-day festival promises to go big. What started over 30 years ago with just a few thousand people attending has grown into one of the biggest Samba events in Europe.
With handicraft and food stalls, workshops and competitions going on throughout the streets, and act after act of world-class samba at 10 different locations across town, not to mention the big samba parade on Sunday, you'll find the weekend flies by in a second!
The King and Queen of the International Samba Festival
Do you fancy your Capoeira skills? Are you a star at dancing Rio Samba? You can enter into competitions to be crowned the Capoeira King and Rio Samba Queen of the competition! Not only will you get to take home the pride of winning, but there are also cash prizes for the top three participants in each event. Make you register online in advance if you want to take part.
Photo credit: Sambaco
Brush up your skills with workshops
Workshops take place on Friday and Saturday. This year, you can improve your funk dancing, your samba no pé skills or your reggae drumming. Courses cost between 25 euros and 35 euros and must be booked in advance. Check the course description for language information as some are given in Portuguese, with questions taken in other languages.
Getting to the International Samba Festival Coburg
Coburg is connected by direct ICE trains to Berlin, Hamburg and Nuremburg, as well as being serviced by many regional trains. Public transport is the best way to get here, but they are operating a park-and-ride for those who have to drive in order to keep the city centre as traffic-free as possible.
The festival itself takes place in the city centre, across several different locations, but all of these are close to each other and the site is easily walkable.
Further information about the International Samba Festival Coburg
The full programme of events and information on how to get to the festival can be found on the International Samba Festival Coburg website. Tickets for the whole three days are also available online, starting at 33 euros. Day tickets can only be purchased on-site on the day.