On the 30th of April every year, the famous Cortège rolls out of Chalmers campus to entertain the streets of Göteborg. The Cortège is a carnival parade arranged by the Chalmers Cortège Committee, consisting of over 800 hundreds of students manning around 50 trucks, each depicting significant events from the past year, and always with a comic or satirical tone. The celebrations are followed by hundreds of thousands of people, gathering to see the carriages, the quirky inventions and the marching bands lighting up the city center. A piece of pure Göteborg, dating back as far as 1910, the Cortège is an event not to be missed.
In the week leading up to the 30th, planning and construction of the parade carriages is in full swing. Typically, students from all university programs join in the process, creating an air of festivity and celebration on the campus. So if you see a crowd of students in white coats or hear the clink of a hammer accompanying the Cortège construction song of the year, don’t worry, the parade is just around the corner.
The Cortège festivities are preceded by many opportunities for students and visitors alike between 20–28 April. In particular, each evening hosts different bands in a bier garden on campus offering student prices and a small entering fee. The carnival itself leaves on 30 April at 18:15 sharp and can be seen from campus as well as most parts of the inner city. Entrance is free and one needs only to find a nice spot in the sun to take part in the festivities.
The great finale of the Cortège carnival takes place on the evening of April 30th with a FestU kalas. The FestU kalas is the largest Walpurgis Night party in the entire city of Gothenburg with live acts, 8–10 dance floors offering different types of music, a large number of bars and several great laser shows. In the past, there have been mini-Tivolies, inflatable "Jolly Jump" castles, climbing walls and oversized boxing rings. Simply put, there is something for everyone! To take part in these festivities (FestU kalas), EACL participants can buy tickets during the registration.
Pictures are credited to CFFC and more can be found on http://cffc.se/bilder/2013/cortege_2013. For more information about the great finale, please watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGHeWaLtiNE. We hope that many of you will take this change to see the carnival, join the festivities and experience some extraordinary Gothenburg culture!
Information regarding traveling on afternoon/evening of 30 April
On 30 April most streets in the inner city will be closed for the carnival, leading to some difficulties for EACL attendees that want to make their way to the airport after closing ceremonies. One way to avoid this traffic is to take a tram directly outside the conference venue, go one stop to Korsvägen and take the airport bus or a taxi from there. Another possibility is to take a taxi and go via Sahlgrenska to the airport. The roads will close shortly before the carnival and opened again after the carnival and should be fully operational after 8pm.
To avoid unnecessary problems, we ask that you reserve some extra time for the way back to the airport on 30 April or that you stay and watch the carnival!