Hanover Schützenfest

The Hannover Marksmen's Festival (Schützenfest Hannover) in Hannover, Germany is the largest marksmen's festival in the world. Founded in 1529, the festival takes place once a year. It is commercially organized and includes a large entertainment program featuring 250 rides and booths, as well as 5 large beer tents.

A highlight of the festival is the 12 km marksmen's parade comprising over 10,000 participants from Germany and all around the world, and featuring around 5,000 marksmen, over 100 marching and fanfare bands, and more than 60 wagons, carriages and floats. It is the longest parade in Europe, and probably the world. More than 1.5million people visit the festival every year. The main landmark of the festival is the 60 m Steiger Ferris Wheel, which can carry 420 people in its 42 passenger cabins.