Carnival beats Covid

LAST Sunday finally saw the return of Carnival to the streets of Palma after two years without parades due to Covid. Thousands of participants took part in the main procession through the city centre in a sea of colour and fun, with several fiesta groups also taking the opportunity to stage protests against a range of issues, including the surge in private jets at the airport and the subsequent increase in pollution. While crowds of spectators admired the fancy dresses, Bolivian and Peruvian dance groups wowed viewers as they celebrated one of the most important yearly traditions in their home countries.

A stage was set up in Plaza Tortugas where Marítim Party Band provided music and animation, while the competition jury kept an eye open for the best disguise from their vantage point at Plaza

Mercat.

The judges award ed prizes according to criteria such as the artistic dec oration of floats, animation, live music, origi nality, creativi ty and humour, among others. Fancy dress galore.

Couple rescued

THE Guardia Civil this week rescued a German couple after they got lost walking in the Na Mora area.

THIS year’s edition of the Palma Jazz festival ended on Sunday with a total of 2,500 spectators packing out the Xesc Forteza auditorium over two consecutive weekends.

Organisers have described the fourth edition of the event as a resounding success, as the ‘Sold out’ sign was hung outside all the concerts at the theatre while the complementary street events held in different parts of the town drew crowds of around 300 people each.

Jazz Palma 2023 took place from

February 2 to 19, with concerts of different sizes and a street parade scheduled from Thursday to Sunday.

Performers included big names such as Berta Moreno, who closed the event on Sunday evening at the Xesc Forteza with her band after performing on major stages throughout Eu­ rope and the US.

The event was recovered by Palma Culture councillor Antoni Noguera in 2020 after it had disappeared from the local events calendar for 20 years.

Ticket sales have increased steadily every year, making the festival one of the key cultural events on the island.