January 1
Rose Parade, Pasadena, Los Angeles, US
Originally held by early Californian colonists to show off the West Coast winter climate to snooty East Coast New Yorkers, the Rose Parade is Pasadena's biggest annual shindig. Flower-strewn floats, marching bands and plenty of bikinis.
January 15
Martin Luther King Day, Atlanta, Georgia, US
The great civil rights leader's birthday is a national holiday in the US. King is remembered in his hometown of Atlanta with a service in the Ebenezer Baptist Church where he was a preacher and now lies buried. Summits, philharmonic concerts and awards dinners celebrate King's message of tolerance.
February 1-17
Quebec Winter Carnival , Quebec City, Canada
Quebec's Winter Carnival claims to be the world's largest snow festival. Thousands come to the French Canadian capital to view snow sculptures and the braver even bathe in snow. The frozen St Lawrence river becomes a track for dog-sled races.
February 23
Car racing on ice , Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
More than 20,000 spectators each year come to see top Canadian and international drivers scream around a 1.4km ice circuit. The treacherous course pushes the two-men teams to their limit as they battle to keep control of their cars at 160kmph.
March 20-21
Drambuie ice golf tournament , Ummannaq, Greenland
Just 600km from the Arctic Circle, a golf tournament is played on ice. This spectacular nine-hole course changes every year depending on where the ice freezes in the Ummannaq fjord. Needless to say, the balls are not white and the greens are not green.
March 31
Semana Santa, Seville, Spain
Holy Week in Seville sees thousands of devotees pour on to the winding streets to watch columns of men in penitents' hoods, sandals and cloaks carrying heavy statues of the Virgin and Christ. As they proceed through the town accompanied by sombre drumbeats, flamenco saetas are sung from balconies along the route.
April 6
The Grand National, Aintree, England
The terrifying size of the jumps in this famous steeplechase has jockeys tumbling from their steeds by the dozen every year. Walking the course before the race reveals quite how brave both horses and riders are to even attempt, let alone win, the Grand National.
April 21
Birth of Rome celebrations, Rome, Italy
Rome is 2,755 this year! The Eternal City, home to the Pope and more Caravaggio paintings than any other city, celebrates its founding by Romulus in 753BC. The Aventine Hill is covered with candles and Romans turn out in their thousands to enjoy a massive firework display.
April 30-May 12
Foire de Paris, Paris, France
This lifestyle event has brought the best of France under one roof for nearly a century. Some 800,000 visi tors descend on the Porte de Versailles to cruise five giant salons: House and Garden, Interior Decoration, Travel and Discovery, Wine and Gastronomy, and Leisure.
May 4
Rhine in flames, Bonn, Germany
Germany's most important river is set alight every summer when Europe's largest river fleet - 60 ships flamboyantly decorated - transform the river into a snake of fire. Watch from the bank or from boats bringing visitors to the prime viewing spots.
May 17-June 3
International Theatre Festival, Istanbul, Turkey
Classical and experimental theatre groups and dance troupes head here every summer to perform in historic venues including Roman sunken baths, former Byzantine churches and Ottoman palaces.
June 21-24
Kourion Shakespeare Festival, Limassol, Cyprus
An Ancient Greek amphitheatre with dizzying views of the Mediterranean hosts an annual Shakespeare festival every summer. Plays have been performed from this cliff-top outdoor theatre for more than 2,000 years.
July 6-7, 13-14, 20-21
Baalbek International Festival, Baalbeck, Lebanon
Towering Roman temples to Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus are the venues for the festival established in 1956. In former years, it has welcomed Nureyev, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald, more recently Nina Simone, Herbie Hancock and the Buena Vista Social Club.
August 12-22
Kandy Perahera, Kandy, Sri Lanka
As the August moon waxes, the streets of Kandy erupt in a pageant involving 10 days of mayhem. Young men mortify their flesh by walking in "harness" with spikes in their backs. Accompanying them are fire-juggling acrobats, sumptuously decorated elephants, traditional dancers, whip crackers and thousands of barefoot pilgrims and swordsmen.
August 21-27
Onam Festival, Kerala, India
Onam celebrates the return of the mythical Keralan ruler, King Mahabali, who is welcomed with temple dances, colourful processions, gargantuan feasts, beauty queens riding elephants and river races boasting 100 oarsmen a boat.
September 1
Festival of Ganesh, Bombay, India
Bombay goes wild for Ganesh, the elephant-headed son of Shiva and the supreme god of wisdom. Preparations begin months in advance, but the climax is the bathing of every Ganesh image in the city. Some of the idols are so enormous that the devotees actually need trucks to take them down to the water.
September 10-12
Tarnetar Fair, Temple of Shiva, Tarnetar, Gujarat, India
The festival draws villagers from all over the state, who come to show off their elaborate costumes, exquisite jewellery and folk songs and dances. Equally impressive are the Tarnetar chhatri , umbrellas intricately adorned with mirrors, embroidery and lace.
September 22
Birthday of the Monkey God Temple, Singapore City, Singapore
Devotees of the Monkey God induce his spirit to entrance them. Some skewer their cheeks while other give wishes written in blood to the crowd. Alongside is a grand procession, loud folk music, firecrackers galore and puppet plays, plus Chinese opera in the temple grounds.
October 9-10
Autumn Festival, Takayama, Japan
Thousands of townspeople in medieval costume accompany 11 enormous floats to the Sakurayama Hachimangu Shrine as the medieval town is enlivened by traditional marionette and Shinto folk performances dedicated to the deities.
October 12-21
Ok Phansa Boat Race Festival, Vientiane, Laos
The celebration for the end of the rainy season begins when families light carved wax candles and release them to drift on the Mekong river. The next day, 50ft coloured boats race on the river in front of massive crowds who celebrate the re-emergence of husbands, brothers and sons from their rainy season temple retreat.
November 19
Festival of the Reversing Current, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Twice a year, the current of the Tonle Sap river switches direction. During the heyday of the Khmer Empire, the rulers were thought to have the power to effect this reversal; nowadays, it's the occasion for boat races on the river. Forty rowers per boat exhaust themselves in three days of races to honour the Mekong and ensure the floods are over for the year.
Late November
Ankhor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia
At this time of year, the jungles are lush but the rains are over and the majestic temple complex of Angkor awaits your visit. Temple ruins scattered over 200km represent the Khmer Empire's efforts to build their cosmology in stone. The gods adorn the temple walls locked in battle with each other and the invasive tree roots.
Early December
Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia
The 2,300km Great Barrier Reef is a World Heritage Site. Join a dive boat to cruise out beyond the breakers and meet the wonders of the deep, more than 6,000 species.
December 26
Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Sydney, Australia
The glorious natural harbour of Australia's premier city is even more alluring on Boxing Day when hundreds of yachts gather before setting off to race down the coast to the capital of Tasmania, Hobart. The sight of the wind in a thousand sails will clear away your Christmas hangover.
December 31
New Year's Eve, Sydney, Australia
The gay scene goes wild by dressing up as superheroes in parties organised by the Sydney Pride Centre while the city's New Year celebrations involve megabucks of fireworks exploded over Sydney Harbour and Darling Harbour.
For more details on these and many other entertainment ideas, check out whatsonwhen.com
