Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 27 February 2023. The 2023 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival has a Queen: Lola Ortiz was crowned on Friday 24 February on the spectacular stage in Santa Catalina Park. It is a “Studio 54” built to set the scene for a festival dedicated this year to the world of the legendary New York club, and has had one of those weekends that best illustrate the meaning and spirit of the celebration in the city.

Lola triumphed in a gala with eleven contestants for the crown, also featuring the international supermodel Nieves Álvarez as co-presenter and the Venezuelan singer-songwriter Carlos Baute, broadcast live on the public networks RTVE and RTVC. The night showed the world the spectacular and unique dresses worn by the candidates: original creations prepared for months by the designers, whose work showcases all the colour of the Las Palmas Carnival.

The celebrations include everyone: from the thousands of members of the public in fancy dress who enjoyed the music and events of the “Daytime Carnival” in Santa Catalina to the families and younger carnival-goers, also in their costumes, who were able to enjoy the Children’s Parade held on the afternoon of Sunday 26 February.

Up till then, the Carnival had been going non-stop in the park, with a great parade of groups (murgas, comparsas, drag queens and the Queen herself) on Saturday 25th, Carlos Baute’s concert that night, and the unique Dog Carnival held on Sunday morning with 15 candidates (and their owners) in a contest that is also a hallmark of the Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Carnival. The pets in their costumes reflect the openness of the festival programme to every kind of audience. All this in a weekend that concluded with the satirical songs of the entertaining chirimurgas in the park

The Carnival was also supplemented on these evenings by the concerts in the setting of the Plaza de la Música, at the western end of Las Canteras beach, with stages for performances by artists of various kinds, in front of thousands of people who experience these weeks with special intensity.

The climax of the programme, however, will come on Friday 3 March, with the Drag Queen Gala, in which 14 candidates will strut their stuff in Santa Catalina Park, which will once again become a global showcase for the festival and the city.