Each May in Aalborg thousands of people fill the streets for what has become known as Northern Europe's largest Carnival parade. The weekend kicks off on a Friday night with the Battle of Carnival Bands. The streets in Aalborg come to life in a samba soaked procession of colour weaving along from the harbour via C.W. Obels Plads to the Kildeparken. Saturday sees a major street parade and water parade featuring decorated boats sailing the channel that passes through town. Finally, the street parade meets the water parade at the harbour where the King of Carnival is crowned. The King then leads the entire parade to Kildeparken in the centre of town, where festivities continue well on into the night.

Held on 23 June and also called Sankt Hans eve, this is a time for evening bonfires at beaches all around Denmark. Copenhagen’s Faelledparken is the site of a big bonfire, and there are special activities at Tivoli and Bakken.

Even those who do not follow racing should see this event as it features the rare gathering of large sailing ships.