The mountain home of the Greek gods, Olympus, will be the setting for the 2008 Las Palmas Carnaval. Gran Canaria’s capital will - as the organisers put it - be turned into “a great mythical temple where men can become gods”" and “an imaginary space of freedom and transgression, where enjoyment, imagination and transformation are to the fore”. Apparently “the carnal will be welcomed in and war declared on the day-to-day” - i.e. let’s party….. The theme should provide plenty of options for costumes, however minimal. And it’s reasonable to expect that Maspalomas will probably follow on with a have similar theme. Carnaval starts early in Las Palmas in the coming year, on the 18th of January. The Gala for the Reina del Carnaval will be on Friday 25th January, and the Drag Queen Gala will be on the 1st of February. With a budget of just over €1.8 million, there’s every reason to expect Carnaval to be as grand as it was in 2007. The city council also wants to see more events across the city at district level. For the first time, a public competition is to be held to design the poster, with a prize of €3000 euros for the winning of design. The entry period starts on the 23rd of July and closes on the 14th of September.