On the evening of Sunday, February 25, 2024, the old town of Rethymno became the epicenter of a splendid opening ceremony, gathering thousands of people who participated enthusiastically in the grandeur of Crete's biggest festival, which will last three full weeks.
Shortly after 4 pm, the area around the Great Gate was packed as hundreds of children rushed to meet this year's Carnival Queen, Dafni Lazidou, to take photos with her and play with the inexhaustible "Roró," who had surprises and gifts for our little masqueraders!

The children's party lasted almost two hours, and shortly after 6:30 pm, the first carnival parade of this year's events took place! The carnival train was there, and hundreds of young and old carnival-goers passed through the main streets of the old town, reaching the Agnostos Stratiotis square, the center of the opening ceremony's events.

A route from Guora Gate to the Sand Gate, where Rethymno's main square proved "small" to accommodate the thousands of friends of the Rethymnian Carnival.
There, at 7 pm, the Municipal Philharmonic Orchestra once again came to prove that it is one of the great achievements of the people of Rethymno! With a wonderful music program, it provided the best start for the central part of the opening ceremony! In fact, the band that played on Sunday consisted not only of experienced members but also students from the philharmonic's music schools, demonstrating the organization's active presence and its hopeful future.

This was followed by an inspiring show with Rethymno-based performers, each of whom deserve warm congratulations for the excellent result we enjoyed on stage. It was the presentation of this year's theme with a music and dance performance directed, written and adapted by Nikos Markantonis, with Costa Costantino and Nikos Mavros on song and choreographed by Katerina Perpirakis and Valentina Kyriazi.

The crowd had already created a full house, and the Mayor of Rethymno, Mr. Giorgis H. Marinakis, went on stage with this year's beautiful Queen and declared the start of the Rethymnian Carnival 2024 amidst an atmosphere of enthusiasm.
An impressive fireworks show followed, brightly illuminating the beautiful coastal road amidst triumphant exclamations and applause, confirming the people's love for the event.

The baton was then passed to the groups participating in this year's carnival. Agnostos Stratiotis square turned into a contemporary runway of fashion and fantasy, where we saw all the costumes of this year's carnival parading and inviting us to wear them for the grand parade on March 17
And in this atmosphere, the climax came with the concert of the popular singer Anastasia, who, along with her colleagues, elevated the spirits and successfully concluded the splendid opening ceremony of this year's carnival.

The event was hosted by Lefteris Koumantakis and Christiana Skoura, journalists from Crete TV, the communication sponsor of this year's carnival that will also broadcast the final, grand carnival parade live.
The two young and exceptional professionals impressed and proved that it is not by chance that they are the central hosts of the carnival events for the second consecutive year.

Satisfaction was expressed for the opening ceremony by the Deputy Mayor of Culture of the Municipality of Rethymno, Mr. Manos Tsakonas, who congratulated the evening's contributors and thanked the sponsors and local media, calling on people to support the upcoming events with a smile, optimism, and the same dynamic participation, inviting our visitors from all over Crete, all over Greece, to become "One group" in Rethymno! The group of the Rethymnian Carnival!
Nikos Markantonis, responsible for the Opening Ceremony of the Rethymnian Carnival, with the participation of volunteers from all groups, ensured the proper security of all the ceremony's events, contributing to their excellent organization.

OPENING CEREMONY SPONSORS
Queens Room Club Restaurant
Jo-An Palace Hotel
"Manolis Liandris" Travel Agency
PARNAMOS A.E. Rethymno City Tour

RETHYMNIAN CARNIVAL SPONSORS
"ALPHA" Beer by Athenian Brewery
Crete TV

CO-ORGANIZATION: Region of Crete