All the best parades and parties from the 2013 festival
Thousands of revellers have enjoyed a sea of parades, floats and parties as part of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras festivities this week.
Crowds lined the likes of Bourbon street and St. Charles Avenue over the weekend, despite the threat of bad weather and news of a shooting that left four injured.
Mardi Gras – the final day of a week-long carnival – traditionally allows Catholic people to enjoy one final day of frivolity and excess before Ash Wednesday and the commencement of Lent, the 40-day period of sacrifice leading up to Easter Sunday.
Estimated to generate around $300 million for the local economy, this year’s festivities provided a bumper boost to the New Orleans tourism industry, coming just two weeks after the city’s Mercedes-Benz Superdome hosted Super Bowl XLVII.
Click through to see our parade highlights.

















































