The Lund Carnival 2026

Attraction The university city of Lund
Event 2026
22 May 12:00 - 24 May 00:00
Entrance to the carnival area
(The price refers to 2022)
80 SEK/tim or 215 SEK/3 daysr
Free for children under 6 years
The carnival parade is free
• High-resolution area map
• Map of the carnival area
• High-resolution traffic map See also
• Tourist information
• Visitor guides
• Travel informtion You almost have to experience the Lund Carnival, the absolute largest event in Lund. The carnival is organized by the students at Lund University in mid-May every four years. The next time will be in 2026, tentatively May 22 to 24. This visitor's guide tells most of what can be useful to know to plan your visit to the next carnival in advance, all gathered on one page to make it easy for you as a visitor.

The Lund Carnival consists of a large carnival area with a variety of large and small humorous pleasures, and different artists perform on one large and one small stage. The Lund Carnival also consists of the carnival parade running through the center of Lund on both Saturday and Sunday. To the carnival area, you have to pay an entrance fee, but it is free to see the carnival parade.

The Lund Carnival is usually organized by about 7,000 students at Lund University, and about 500,000 visitors come to the city during the three days the event takes place, from Friday to Sunday. For Saturday's carnival parade, there are usually more than 200,000 visitors in Lund city center.

Tentatively, the next Lund Carnival will be inaugurated at the main stage on May 22, 2026, at 13:00 (1pm).

Some of the information in this visitor's guide varies from carnival to carnival, such as ticket prices and how to buy tickets. The text will be updated when new information is available before the next upcoming carnival.

Before and during the carnival, you can find the program on the Lund Carnival website (currently only in Swedish), in Facebook and on Instagram. Approximately a week before the carnival, you will be able to buy the carnival program, which tells everything about that happens during the carnival days and the themes of the carriages in the parade.

A bit about the Lund Carnival history

The carnival parade in 1904 with the legendary perpetual student Sam Ask as "Prince Carnival" in one of the first cars to roll on the streets of Lund. The Lund Carnival has a long tradition and has also functioned as a “nursery” for many humorists from Lund. It is not clear when the carnivals first started. The earliest were arranged as a kind of "spring festival" or "May festival" but the so-called "Småland peasant wedding" in 1849, often counts as the first official carnival. At that time, students from Småland's nation marched through Lund dressed up as a peasant wedding.

Between 1876 and 1892, carnivals were held every other year, but in 1892 the celebration degenerated into extensive drinking, and therefore the carnival was cancelled in 1894. Since then, carnivals have been held every four years. Although during the world wars there were no carnival. Since 1954, carnivals have almost always had a specific theme, that rhymes with the word carnival in Swedish. In 2014, the theme was Futural Carnival, in 2018 it was Imaginal Carnival, and in 2022 the theme was Catastrophical´ Carnival.

In the past, the carnival general was called "Prince Carnival". A female carnival general was elected for the first time in 2014, also in 2018, the carnival general was a woman.

The Carneval Organization

The carnival has a turnover of just above SEK 30 million. It is organized by 7,000 students from Lund University, who work with the carnival in various ways. The carnival management usually consists of an eleven-person carnival committee, who serve as managers of different areas of responsibility. The committee begin their work about a year and a half before the carnival. The members of the committee also appoint one of the members as the carnival general. After the election of the carnival general, a by-election is held for a manager of the responsibility that the carnival general would have had.

The Carnival Roll Call

At the end of January, barely four months before the carnival begins, the carnival roll call is organized. All students who want to be part of arranging the carnival can register. Those who work with the carnival are called carnivalists, karnivalister in Swedish. Since it is not possible to register in another way, as the tasks are distributed in turn as far as they go during the Carnival Roll Call, there is usually a long queue for the roll call, which take place in the AF building . It is an experience to see all the students sitting in the queue which stretches through the center of Lund. Often, they bring music and eat takeaway while they wait, some entering the queue already the day before, sitting there all night long.

The interest in participating in the carnival is usually big, so many people queue almost a day in advance, hoping to get the opportunity to choose what they will work with during the carnival. The Carnival Roll Call for the Lund Carnival 2022 opened on Sunday February 27 at 11:00. The first people entered the queue already at 01:30 Saturday night. When the Roll Call then opened, the queue stretched all the way down to the street Södra Esplanaden in Lund, a queue more than one km long. A total of 6,060 karnivalister were registered at the Roll Call, and in the end, 7,445 people took part in arranging the Lund Carnival 2022.

The Lund Carnival is a huge event, and almost everyone who participates in the arrangements does so for the first time. There are few companies that would manage to work in this way, having new staff every time. Therefore, it is not surprising if there are some minor issues coming up during the Lund Carnival, but most things usually work well.

Before the Carnival

The carnival theme

Each Lund Carnival is permeated by a specific theme, chosen by the carnival committee. The theme used to be declared about six months before the carnival begin. As a tradition, the theme of carnival rhyme with the Swedish word carnival (karneval). The theme is illuminated in different ways in the various amusements inside the carnival area and in the parade carriages, often in a most free interpretation. For the Lund Carnival 2022, the theme was Catastrophic Carnival, which was described by the carnival committee as:

Sometimes things don't turn out quite as you imagined, in everyday life, at school, or in other situations. The Lund Carnival 2022 will celebrate these misunderstandings, blunders and faux pas. We believe that all occasions are worth celebrating.

Countdown to the carnival

The magazine and the program for the 2022 Carnival. Before some carnivals, there has been a countdown a year in advance. The countdown is divided into ten exactly equal intervals, and locally famous people have called out the number, 10, 9, 8, ... and so on at each time. Since the intervals are the same length, the time for the announcement has varied from time to time, and some of the announcements have taken place during the night.

Carnival media

In the weeks before the carnival, a humorous carnival movie is usually filmed. The movie is then shown as one of the great pleasures at the carnival. In addition, there is a magazine and a program for the carnival, which start to be sold about a week before the carnival. A carnival melody is also made to the carnival, which is launched online also about a week before the carnival begin. The music is then played during the carnival, including at the opening ceremony. The actual activities before and during the carnival vary from carnival to carnival.

Ticket release to the great pleasures

Tickets to the great pleasures, Spex, Revue, Cabaret, Show, Movie, Circus, Dance and Children's Choice, are usually released on a Sunday about one month before the carnival starts. There are several occasions for those great pleasures during the three carnival days, but they are popular, and a lot of people want tickets for those times. Tickets are usually released and sold at the Universitetshuset . Therefore, you need to be in Lund when tickets are released. People are queuing early before ticket sales start, the queue usually goes several hundred meters through the park Lundagård, south of the University Main Building. Later, left over tickets are sold online at the Lund Carnival's website.

Sell of ticket and carnival products

A few weeks before the carnival, different carnival products are sold from a shed at the Main square in Lund (Stortorget). Some years, you have been able to buy tickets to the carnival area on beforehand, and the Main Square is usually the place to pick up the entrance wristbands that can be bought online. In addition, you can also buy the carnival's own currency, carnival thalers.

The Monday on the carnival week, the large carnival area in the park Lundagård will be fenced, as well as the University square and the area north of the University.

Tickets

A three-day ticket that was redeemed to an entrance wristband to enter the Carnival 2022. If you want to visit the carnival area you need a ticket. You also need special tickets for various kinds of great pleasures. Even if you just want to go to some of the great pleasures, you also need an entrance ticket to the carnival area. Inside the carnival area there are many different smaller pleasures, usually called tent funnies and raffles. To enjoy them, you pay with the carnival's own currency, carnival thalers. Often it is also possible to use Swish, and then you don't have to buy carnival thalers. With a ticket to the carnival area, you can see artists performing both on the large and small stages inside the carnival area.

It can be a big challenge to sell tickets to a three-day event with around 500,000 visitors. Ticket sales are therefore usually cash-free and largely online where you pay with a card or Swish (a Swedish payment app). The tickets are received as PDF documents by e-mail and contain a QR code. If it is a one-time ticket to the carnival area or to one of the great pleasures, the PDF are to be shown at the entrance where the QR code is scanned. Of course, you can only use each ticket and QR code once. If it is a three-day ticket, you have to show the PDF when picking up the entrance wristband. The wristband is then shown every time you enter the carnival area. It is usually worth buying a three-day ticket if you are visiting the carnival area more than twice during the three carnival days.

Tickets can usually be bought one or a few weeks before the carnival, and there is usually a shed at the Main square in Lund (Stortorget) where you also can pick up entrance wristbands. The tickets are usually not personal, so it is possible to let someone else pick up the entrance wristbands you have bought.

Carnival thalers in 2022. It is recommended to download and save the tickets on your mobile phone in advance or print them. During the three carnival days, there are so many people in the city center of Lund, so the mobile network can be overloaded. If the tickets are already on the mobile phone, it is possible to show them even if the mobile network is not working properly. It is also recommended to pick up your entrance wristbands as soon as possible, and no later than the day before the carnival. During the three days of Carnival, the queues are often extremely long.

Carnival thalers are the Lund Carnival's own currency which can be used to pay with inside the carnival area, if you want to take part in the small tent and raffle pleasures. The carnival thalers at the Lund Carnival 2022 cost SEK 25 and for SEK 111 you got five carnival thalers. Usually, you can buy carnival thalers in a shed at the main square (Stortorget) in Lund a few weeks before the carnival, and in several places inside the carnival area during the carnival. Many people also buy some carnival thalers to save as a souvenir from the Lund Carnival.

Travel and trafic information

Saturday's carnival parade usually attracts over 200,000 visitors. In the city center, the number of parking spaces is severely limited, and there will also be a shortage of bicycle parking when so many people want to park their bikes at the same time. It is recommended to come to Lund by train or bus if possible, or by bike or on foot if you live in Lund. It is also recommended to arrive in good time. From the railway station it is only 400 meters to walk to the carnival area, which takes approximately about 5 minutes.

There are many people moving around in Lund city center during the three days when the Carnival takes place. The carnival parade runs through the center of Lund both Saturday and Sunday, following the blue line in the map below. The parade starts at 13:00 on the north side of the AF building . Both Saturday and Sunday, it is forbidden to park any vehicle along the streets where the carnival parade runs. Further below, there is more information that is good to know for those who want to see the carnival parade.

All traffic is prohibited on both Saturday and Sunday between 11:00 and 15:00 in the red-marked area on the map below. This also applies to those who live or run a business in that area. Even the city buses are not running during that time.

Usually, a lot of temporary toilets are set up both inside the carnival area and in various places in the city center along the route for the carnival parade.

High-resolution
traffic map The parking spaces on the south side of the All-Saints church (Allhelgonakyrkan) are usually made available to disabled persons, who thus can watch the carnival parade from their car. However, you must arrive well in advance if you have a disability parking license and want to park there. Since all traffic in the area is prohibited after 11:00, the car must be in place before that. There are usually some temporary accessible toilets set up there.

The Carnival area

You need a
ticket to enter
the carnival area. The park Lundagård, the University square and a large part of the area north of the university square are usually fenced into a large carnival area. In the area there is a large and a small stage, and different artists perform during the three carnival days. Inside the carnival area, there are many different humorous pleasures, mainly with a lot of student-humor events.

Usually, there are six entrances to the carnival area. In the map below you can see where they were in 2022.

High-resolution
area map The carnival area and everything there is usually accessibility adapted. Inside the carnival area, or just outside, there use to be a temporary police station where thefts or lost property can be reported. A temporary medical aid with doctors, nurses and medical teams is also available in the carnival area. Healthcare workers also walk in the carnival parade.

Smoking is prohibited throughout the carnival area, except in designated places clearly marked with signs. This applies to all types of cigarettes, cigars and e-cigarettes, etcetera.

There are a lot of objects not allowed to be brought into the carnival area for safety reasons. If you bring a bag, you need to show it at the entrance before entry. The carnival staff who examine the contents have the right to refuse objects that are deemed unsuitable.

Knives, weapons, sharp objects, fireworks, bicycles, electric scooters, skateboards, inline skates or vehicles except assistive devices, are not allowed to be brought inside the carnival area. Pets, except guide dogs, are neither allowed.

Glass or metal bottles, or other containers containing any liquid, are not allowed to be brought inside. There is carnival beer to buy and there is also drinking water inside the carnival area.

Speakers or other music systems, megaphones or similar sound equipment are not allowed to bring, as well as flags on sticks or umbrellas, due to it usually gets very crowded with many visitors at the same time inside the carnival area. A license is required to bring professional cameras, camcorders and sound recording equipment.

Visitors map for the carnival area

High-resolution
visitors map Here is the Lund Carnival visitor map for the carnival area during the carnival 2022. Most will probably be located somewhat similarly during the Lund Carnival 2026.

The white labels on the map indicate where the entrances were located with the names they had during the 2022 Lund Carnival. The yellow labels indicate the locations of the various large pleasures.

If you have a ticket to the large pleasures, you need to arrive in very good time. It is usually very crowded inside the carnival area and therefore it could take some time to go to where you are going, and the queues are often long.

There are usually several restaurants and pubs inside the carnival area, serving different types of food. In the visitor map above, you can see where they were located during the 2022 Lund Carnival, indicated with pink labels. You usually need to book a table, or stand in line for a long time, to visit them, and they are quickly filled. There are also smaller kiosks and food carts serving sausages, ice cream and snacks, etcetera. In several places you can buy carnival beer and other drinks, and there is also access to water.

There is a large shop inside the carnival area where you can buy carnival souvenirs and the carnival program. During the 2022 Lund Carnival located in the AF building, marked with the blue label "Konkursen" in the visitor map above.

The carnival radio usually broadcasts from a glass cage inside the carnival area throughout the carnival. You can also listen at the Lund Carnival website, where you find the various program items. Among other things, interviews with the artists performing at the main stage are broadcasted, as well as the carnival melody and a lot of music.

The Lund Carnival opening ceremony

The Lund Carnival is usually inaugurated from the main stage at 13:00 on Friday, the first of the three carnival days. Until the opening ceremony begins it usually is free admission to the carnival area. According to old tradition, the new carnival committee formally takes over during the opening ceremony. This is done by the new carnival managers cutting the ties of the corresponding managers in the last time carnival committee.

The artists at the 2022 Lund carnival

To be able to see and listen to the artists performing on the stages, you only need a ticket to the carnival area. Below are the artists that performed on the main stage during the 2022 Lund carnival.

Fredag 20 maj
17:00 Blacknuss
19:00 Måns Zelmerlöw
21:00 Tingsek
23:00 Basshunter

Lördag 21 maj
17:00 Hemliga Klubben (Secret Club)
19:00 Felicia Takman
21:00 Daniela Rathana
23:00 Familjen (Family)

Söndag 22 maj
16:00 Östblocket
18:00 Vånna Inget
20:00 En hyllning till Kal P Dal (A celebration to Kal P Dal)
22:00 Atomic Swing
00:00 Hyksoz

The carnival parade

The carnival parade
is free for everyone.
The parade runs both on
Saturday and Sunday
at 13:00 (1pm) The carnival parade runs both Saturday and Sunday starting at 13:00 (1pm) following the road and direction you see in the traffic map above, shown by the white arrow. The different carriages illustrate the carnival's theme in different ways, but actual events are also included. You can read about the carriages included in the carnival parade and what they are illustrating in the carnival program. The program is usually sold one or a few weeks in advance, and by karnivalister (which the staff is called) walking in the parade. Lund's two student orchestras, Bleckhornen and Alte Kamereren, usually walk and play in the parade, and many invited student orchestras. Mounted police come first and last in the procession, and many small humorous features not mentioned in the program also occur.

Quite often, the carnival parade starts with some delay and sometimes there are large gaps between the different carriages in the carnival parade. If you want to see it well, it is a good idea to arrive in good time. You may need to wait an hour or more before the first carriages in the carnival parade pass, depending on where you stand along the procession route. But it is an experience to see all the people and to feel the special carnival atmosphere in Lund. The whole carnival parade usually comes all the way around until 16:00 (4pm).