Woof! A Photo Recap of Bear Carnival 2023

26th December 2023 John Hernandez

This year’s Bear Carnival, which took place from March 18-26, was a massive success, and we have the pics to prove it!

Held each year in March, Bear Carnival takes place just after the world-famous Canarian Carnival in Maspalomas, Europe’s largest beach resort town, in Gran Canaria, Spain. Well beyond the usual bar crawl driving many queer events, Bear Carnival’s program was comprised of nearly 60 events, and included Europe’s biggest bear pool parties, excursions to explore the surrounding subtropical paradise, fine dining experiences, luxury spa evenings, cabaret shows, one-day boat trips, dating parties for singles… and the standard smoking hot parties at the legendary men-only clubs in Maspalomas.

The festivities are organized like a carnival, with a new theme selected each year. 2023’s theme was “the Circus”. It was a virtual sea of bearded beauties of all ages dressed as carnival strongmen shaking their *ahem* assets in the open-air discos and on the party boats sailing beneath the spectacular cliffs of the island.

With such a massive program of events there was truly something for everyone, but this year’s carnival featured a bunch of brand-new events such as the Bear Wellness Experience which took place two days before the official event in a private mountain retreat and provided attendees with an opportunity for self-love, male bonding and workshop experiences geared towards health and relaxation. In addition to that, additional events for singles were added with a dedicated reception and a round of speed dating, a ‘Content Creators Hub’ pool party/ filming set was put up, there was a massive a foam party to the delight of everyone, a sexy singlet/lycra night, and additional excursions to the spas. Woof!

All of these new events were held in conjunction with Bear Carnival’s signature offerings such as their annual waterpark excursion, cheese & wine tastings, scenic tours, neon beards party, bear tantra & yoga workshops, naked bear cruises, and, of course, the Mr. Bear Gran Canaria Competition which was won this year by Ruairí Davies.

Most of the events took place in and around the Yumbo Centre in the Maspalomas resort, and many parties were free to attend with the exception of the biggest and most popular events which required a ticketed entrance.