People prepare ot attend a carnival parade in Limassol, Cyprus, on March 10, 2019. A record number of 40,000 people, almost double the estimate, turned out for the traditional Limassol Carnival parade in Cyprus on Sunday, making it the biggest carnival in over a century, the city's Mayor Nicos Nicolaides said. (Xinhua/Zhang Baoping)
NICOSIA, March 10 (Xinhua) -- A record number of 40,000 people, almost double the estimate, turned out for the traditional Limassol Carnival parade in Cyprus on Sunday, making it the biggest carnival in over a century, the city's Mayor Nicos Nicolaides said.
The mayor estimated that 100,000 people from all over Cyprus lined the parade route to watch groups of people dressed in multicolor costumes dance and sing their way from start to finish.
It was also the longest parade so far, lasting five hours.
The parade kicked off with an extravagant fireworks and paper ware ceremony, during which Mayor Nicolaides presented honorary plaques to people who have devoted their life to the Limassol carnival, which dated back to 1890.
A total of 103 groups on floats and on foot took part in the parade, inspired from movie characters such as the Spiderman, the Superman and the Batman, or fairy tale and sports figures, the Greek mythology, and space exploration.
Some also made fun of politicians or events that took their toll on society in the aftermath of the economic crisis of 2013, such as the closing down of two banks. Even a trend of building skyscrapers along Limassol's 10-kilometer sea-front was mocked by a disapproving group.
A group commemorated 93 years of Mickey Mouse and another got its inspiration from the epic poem Odyssey, depicting Ulysses facing the wrath of sea-god Poseidon, battling with one-eyed giants and resisting the deadly song of the Sirens.
Chinese living in Cyprus also joined the parade in their traditional Chinese costumes.
A particularly large group of over 250 revelers dressed in colorful costumes brought back memories of past carnivals when costumes, hats and other paraphernalia were hand-made.
There were families with children as young as 4 years, all dressed alike in their carnival groups.
The weather was kind to people in flimsy costumes with a glorious sun all day long in contrast to the previous Sunday, when the traditional children's parade was washed away by rain.
To compensate that, the children led Sunday's procession behind the twin queens of the carnival, the queen of joy and the queen of craziness.
The 11-day carnival revelry is peaking overnight with an evening-long carnival dance at a public square against the backdrop of the city's old docks.
The Limassol Carnival is the oldest and most popilar folk festivity in Limassol but also across Cyprus.
