Published August 13, 2026, at 1:31 p.m. KST.

From mud-soaked beaches in South Korea to ancient Hindu chariot processions in India, medieval combat reenactments in France, and drone light shows in Incheon, summer festivals across the globe have drawn crowds in July and August 2026. The following is a photo gallery of highlights from celebrations spanning multiple continents.

South Korea

At the Boryeong Mud Festival near a beach in Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, on July 25, a participant was photographed playing in a mud pool. Chito Baro of the United States was captured playing with a ball during the same festival. Launched in 1998 to promote locally mined mud used in cosmetics, the festival has grown into one of South Korea's most internationally attended seasonal events. (AP-Yonhap)

In Incheon, drones illuminated the night sky during the K-Drone Festival at a park on July 15. (AP-Yonhap)

India

Devotees dressed as Lord Krishna participated in Rath Yatra, also known as the Chariot Journey Festival, in Kolkata on July 16. Ratha Yatra is one of the oldest and largest Hindu chariot festivals, commemorating the annual journey of the deity Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra, and their sister Subhadra from their main temple in Puri to the Gundicha Temple. The Puri edition alone draws millions of pilgrims each year. (EPA-Yonhap)

In Hyderabad's Telangana region, an artist dressed as the Hindu goddess Mahakali performed during a procession marking Bonalu, a month-long Hindu folk festival, on August 3. (AP-Yonhap)

China

An artist performed with a horse at the opening ceremony of the 36th Naadam festival in Xilin Gol League, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on July 18. Naadam, usually held in mid-summer and sometimes in winter in pastoral areas of Inner Mongolia, means "games" in the Mongolian language. It often comprises wrestling, archery, and horse racing, collectively known as the "Three Games of Men." Naadam was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010. (Xinhua-Yonhap)

In Yangpo Village, Yuexi County, in southwest China's Sichuan province, people took part in a torch festival at a terraced field on August 4. The event featured torch carnival nights, folk cultural competitions, and dancing and singing contests. The torch festival is a traditional celebration of the Yi ethnic group, usually held around the 24th day of the sixth month on the Chinese lunar calendar each year. (Xinhua-Yonhap)

Hungary

A festival-goer wore an illuminated outfit during the performance of German DJ and electronic music producer Paul Kalkbrenner on the opening night of the B My Lake techno festival in Velence on July 16. (EPA-Yonhap)

Belgium

Festival attendees gathered at the Tomorrowland electronic music festival in Boom on July 17. Tomorrowland, held annually since 2005, is among the world's largest electronic music festivals, regularly selling out hundreds of thousands of tickets within minutes. (AFP-Yonhap)

Switzerland

Two festivalgoers cooled off in mist during the 49th Paleo Festival in Nyon on July 24. (EPA-Yonhap)

France

Members of the Behourd Sport Carcassonne club competed against each other in a "buhurt" — a medieval full-contact combat — during a historical festival in Mirepoix on July 18. (AFP-Yonhap)

Russia

South Korea's Choi Byung-hwa was photographed diving during a high diving competition at the Two Rivers festival of water sports in Moscow on July 19. (AP-Yonhap)

Israel

A high-wire artist traversed a cable suspended above the Hinnom Valley during a dress rehearsal ahead of the opening of the 65th Israel Festival, set along the seam between east and west Jerusalem, on July 27. (AFP-Yonhap)

Germany

Eco-friendly lanterns floated on the lake at Britzer Garten during the Water Lantern Festival in Berlin on July 24. (EPA-Yonhap)

In Frankfurt am Main, people watched a fireworks display marking the end of the annual Mainfest festival on August 3. (EPA-Yonhap)

Japan

A Tezutsu-shu — a traditional Japanese arm-held firework performer — was showered with sparks from tezutsu hanabi, hand-crafted bamboo tubes packed with gunpowder that erupt in a towering column of spark and flame, during the Tatebayashi Arm-Held Fireworks Festival in Tatebayashi, Gunma Prefecture, on July 25. The tezutsu tradition, passed down through generations in central Japan, is believed to date back over 400 years. (AFP-Yonhap)

Iraq

Shiite Muslim worshippers gathered inside the holy shrine of Imam Abbas ahead of the Arbaeen festival in Karbala on August 2. The holiday marks the end of the 40-day mourning period following the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, in the seventh century. Arbaeen is widely regarded as one of the world's largest annual religious pilgrimages, with tens of millions of worshippers converging on Karbala each year. (AP-Yonhap)

Spain

People festively reenacted the Viking invasions that took place a thousand years ago in Catoria on August 2. (EPA-Yonhap)

Mexico

A woman lit candles during the International Cantoya Festival in Patzcuaro, Michoacan State, on August 2. The Cantoya Festival centers on the illumination of paper lanterns known as "cantoyas," a folk tradition rooted in central Mexico. (AFP-Yonhap)