Carnival customs with processions and dance have been fostered for more than a century. The Carnival in a form of processions as nowadays has been organised since 1982. At present more than 100 carnival groups take part in the Rijeka Carneval . The procession can be watched on TV, and streamed over the internet, thus presenting the Rijeka Carnival to the whole world. Since 1995 Rijeka has been a member of the Federation of European Carnival Cities (FECC), and the Rijeka Carnival is included in the list of 500 most important events in Europe – Top 500 European Events.

Within the Rijeka Carnival the following events are organised: carnival processions, carnival feasts, the election of the Rijeka Carnival queen,  the carnival charity ball,  carnival concerts, carnival exhibitions,  carnival sports and children’s carnivals games. The costumed processions that walk through downtown Rijeka on the last Sunday before Ash Friday, represent the carnival’s highlight. Traditionally at the end of the procession there are bell ringers from Halubje who have been taking part in the Rijeka Carnival from the very beginning.

Groups from all over Croatia and from abroad take part in the carnival. The motives presented by the groups range from traditional to modern ones, and very often their themes mock the actual political situation.  The parades walk in a circle starting from the waterfront (Putnička obala), across the Delta zone, to end on Korzo.

The organiser of the Rijeka Carnival is the  Tourist Board of the City of Rijeka.

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