Mardi Gras brings the streets of New Orleans to life after two-year break

The streets of New Orleans were alive with purple, green and gold yesterday (1 March) as revellers returned for Mardi Gras celebrations.

Last year, the parades and parties were cancelled due to coronavirus cases still being high in the USA.

However the carnival spirit returned for 2022, with party-goers marching through the streets all day long.

Back-to-back parades took place in the French Quarter of New Orleans, with masks only required to be worn at indoors venues.

5 things you didn't know about Mardi Gras

A brief history of Mardi Gras

Mardi Gras takes place on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, and signals the start of the season of fasting called Lent. 

The celebration has a lengthy history with its origin dating back to Medieval Europe in the 16th and 17th century.

The first parade in New Orleans, home to the celebration, was reported to have been in 1867. However Mobile, Alabama, claims to be the true birthplace of the festivities. 

The purple, gold and green colours became traditional at the end of the 1800s, with meaning given to each one. Purple represents justice, green represents faith and gold represents power. 

Beads are thrown around at Mardi Gras, which also became part of the tradition during the 19th century. People now wear elaborate bead necklaces as part of their fancy dress, along with carnival-style masks.

See images of this year's celebrations below in our gallery below.