World's Top Festivals of 2018

Driven by geography, culture and so much more, countries around the world host an amazing diversity of festivals, some to celebrate, some to remember, and some, … just because! Everfest publishes FEST300, a list of the 300 best upcoming festivals. Here are some fun facts pulled from FEST300:

• Of the 170 festivals coming up 2018, Everfest rated 26 as 5 star, the highest rating, while the majority—111 festivals—received a 4.5, and only one festival—the Maha Shivaratri in Nepal—earned a 3.  Another five festivals were included in FEST300 but have a zero rating because site visitors have not yet provided assessments for those festivals.
• In 2018, the US will host 51 of the FEST300 festivals, more than any other country. The US is also the only country to have three host cities make the FEST300: Chicago, Miami, and New Orleans.
• A burst of festivals were launched in the early 1990s and remain on the FEST300 today, with more than 40 festivals dating to 1991.
• Of the 12 types of festivals in the ranking, music festivals make up a disproportionate share. Even the newest festival on the FEST300 is a music festival: the Okeechobee Music & Arts Festival. Debuting in 2016, it is “the largest music festival in Florida, with a freewheeling lineup encompassing superstars and up-and-comers.”
• First celebrated in 1412, the oldest festival on the FEST300 is the Inti Raymi, “a nine-day winter solstice celebration worshiping an Incan god and involves colorful costumes, lavish banquets, festive music, and historical recreations.”