Started in 1967 to commemorate Canada's centennial, it has grown thirty three years later into a massive logistical exercise, attracting close to one million visitors.
Celebrants come in mainly from the United States, but as far as Europe, Japan.
And of course there is a large contingent of visitors from the Caribbean, where Latin style Carnival has its origins. It was then a pre- lenten celebration on plantation estates where French and African cultures, mythologies, and escapism intertwined to create a bacchanalia of freedom. These combined cultural elements and the urbanization of the Carnival, plus a small increase in general wealth became the recognizable foundation of the modern Carnival. After the Second World War, and with an infusion of American money from military spending, there was an euphoria in celebration of an even greater freedom in the Allied victory over fascism. The most recognizable manifestation of Carnival is the creation of some of the most stunning costumes to be seen anywhere in the world.