The Santa Cruz City Council, via the Autonomous Organisation of Festivals and Recreational Activities (OAFAR), has declared that on Friday, 18th October, at 8:30 p.m., the Plaza de España will host “an event inspired by Africa, featuring REWA, the designer of the promotional poster, alongside various local artists who will enliven the inaugural dance of Carnival 2025 themed Secrets of Africa,” explained the mayor of the capital, José Manuel Bermúdez. He remarked that “this initiative achieved remarkable success in attendance last year, prompting us to repeat this formula for the current year.”
The councillor for the Festivals division, Javier Caraballero, noted, “as the mayor mentioned, following the positive reception last year with the prominent event launching the 2024 carnival poster at the Plaza del Príncipe, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council, through OAFAR, will host the first grand Carnival dance.” He further elaborated that “this event will symbolically mark the beginning of this year’s festivities and will unveil the promotional poster for Carnival 2025 on Friday, 18th October, starting at 8:30 p.m. in the Plaza de España.”
“The event – Caraballero emphasised – will last approximately three and a half hours and aims not only to showcase the design crafted by REWA, a globally recognised Nigerian artist selected as the creator of the Carnival 2025 promotional poster but also serves as the first dance of the upcoming Festival edition.” He added that “it will also be an excellent opportunity to feature notable local artists who will entertain attendees until midnight.”
According to Javier Caraballero, Councillor for Festivals, “we are repeating this approach after the success achieved last year, intending for it to serve as a teaser for carnival-goers, who feel February is still a long way off and wish to relish an enjoyable night of dancing where, if they desire, they can come in costume.” He further stated, “everyone is welcomed since there will be exciting surprises to be revealed throughout the coming week, which we are confident will enchant attendees and elevate the event to a higher level.”
Thus, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife City Council commences the 2025 edition of the Carnival, which will officially initiate on Friday, 31st January with the opening ceremony.

