Giant rat leads Venice Carnival opening parade
The Pantegana is a traditional, giant, paper-mâché rat sculpture that kicks off the Venice Carnival by travelling down the Grand Canal on a gondola
- Published
The grand opening to the Venice Carnival 2026 took place on Sunday.
The Italian city is famous for its canals, so the parade was made up not of cars or trucks - but boats and floats.
The procession was led by a giant paper-mâché rat, known as Pantegana, which it is a long-standing symbol of the carnival.
Tourists from all over the world come to be part of the festival, which takes place over two weeks.
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This year's theme is 'Olympus - back to the origins of the Games' in honour of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics which start on 6 February.
Crowds gathered on the Rialto Bridge to watch the celebration begin, with dancers, costumes and music lighting up the city.
The crew of this boat certainly added to the colour of the day
This group, calling themselves the Pink Lionesses, had their own torch connecting to the Olympic theme
The event takes place each year before the period of Lent, the Christian tradition of 40 days of fasting in the run up to Easter.
During parts of the celebrations people often wear Venetian masks, connecting to different history and fairytale characters.
Some Stormtrooper from Stars Wars also made an appearance - maybe they were on the hunt for some Jedi
This rooster canal boat is making us crow with laughter
