Africa

Klein Karoo National Arts Festival | Oudtshoorn, South Africa | March 31st - April 7th – Originally an Afrikaans-only cultural event, the Klein Karoo has grown and evolved into a multilingual, multicultural arts festival hosting a huge variety of South African artists. Art, music and street theatre are all present, showing off the best of South African culture.
Visit the Klein Karoo webpages

Marathon Des Sables | Ouarzazate, Morocco | April 6th - 16th – A gruelling six-day race in inhospitable conditions that would put even the hardiest of competitors under pressure. Strict rules and regulations are applied to the multi-national entrants as they cross some 250 km of desert.
View the Marathon Des Sables webpages

Malabo International Fashion Week | Malabo, Equatorial Guinea | April 12th - 15th – Playing on the theme of transformation, Malabo's 3rd fashion week sees international stylists and designers joining the national to seek transformation without losing the essence of being.
View more on the Malabo Fashion Week Facebook page (in Spanish)

Tunis International Book Fair | Tunis, Tunisia | April 25th - May 2nd – The annual cultural and trade event that has become one of Tunisia's most anticipated and prominent landmarks on the cultural agenda. A mixture of trade and consumer show that pushes the boundaries of what would normally be considered a book fair.
Visit the Tunis International Book Fair website

Asia

Sotheby's Art Auctions | Wanchai Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong | April 3rd – A convergence of the finer things in life as dealers, collectors and aficionados gather at Hong Kong's Convention & Exhibition Centre for two Sotheby's auctions: 'Fine Chinese Paintings' and 'Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite', both offering the chance to snap up some fine examples of Asian art and jewellery.
View the Fine Chinese Paintings auction pages
See the Jewels and Jadeite auction webpages

Seoul International Improvisation Dance Festival | Seoul, South Korea | April 10th - 17th – Promoting Korean performing art's entrance to the international stage, the festival welcomes official performances by guest artists from around the world alongside local Korean talent in the medium of contemporary improvisational dance.
View the Seoul International Improvisation Dance Festival online

Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix | Shanghai, China | April 15th – The third race in this season's F1 calendar visits China's Shanghai International Circuit. Designed in the shape of the Chinese character 'shang', representing 'high' or 'above', the 5.6 km track is explicit in its demands on the drivers. Differing acceleration and decelerations within the winding turns leading into high speed straights promise a thrilling race.
See details on the F1 pages online

China International Boat Show | Shanghai, China | April 19th - 22nd – In its sixteenth year running, the CIBS sees exhibits catering for domestic and overseas boats, luxury yachts, components and equipment, water sports/marina/leisure services and tourism. With the ever-growing yachting and boating culture in China reflecting the numbers in attendance, it is a crucial boat show to be involved in.
Visit the China International Boat Show Online

Australia/New Zealand

Warbirds Over Wanaka | Wanaka, New Zealand | April 6th - 8th – Airliners we take for granted, but whenever an old warbird is spotted, some tiny part of us can't help but watch in wonder at the brutal yet majestic machines. Warbirds Over Wanaka takes the spectacle of the aircraft from days gone past and makes a full blown weekend of displays, aerobatics and the childlike wonder that rarely gets a look into adult life.
Visit Warbirds Over Wanaka online

The New Zealand International Jazz & Blues Festival | Christchurch, New Zealand | April 11th - 15th – Local, national and international jazz and blues artists converge in Christchurch for what promises to be a stellar programme of mixed musical styles. An unmissable opportunity to see Christchurch's own Symphony Orchestra in collaboration with trumpeter James Morrison is but one part of the line up.
View the Jazz & Blues Festival webpages

Canberra Craft Beer Festival | Canberra, Australia | April 14th – Beer lovers, rejoice! Up to 80 national and international brewers will be championing their brews with fervour among the gourmet food, music and entertainment. A day for supping on the amber nectar.
Quench your thirst online at the Canberra Beer Festival webpages

Targa Tasmania | Tasmania, Australia | April 17th - 22nd – An opportunity for GT, sports and touring car owners and enthusiasts (should their application be successfully picked out by the Vehicle Selection Committee) to stretch their automotive legs on the tarmac of Tasmania. Spread out over 6 days and covering 2,000 km of closed roads, the Targa Tasmania intends for these magnificent machines to be driven as they were designed to be.
Visit the Targa Tasmania pages online

Europe

Festival du Cinéma Européen | Lille, France | March 30th - April 6th – Consisting of 11 competitions among numerous guest speakers, themed nights and more. Originally set out as a short film festival, the festival has blossomed over the years to include feature length films, while holding true to the art form of the short.
Find out more on the Festival du Cinema Europeen online

Race of the Classics | Rotterdam/Ipswich/Amsterdam | April 2nd - 8th – One of the largest amateur sailing races held in Europe, Race of the Classics sees over 20 teams make their way from Rotterdam, across the North Sea to Ramsgate and Ipswich, and then back again in time for the closing event celebration (i.e. party) and presentation of the highly prized Challenge Cup.
Further details and track the race online (in Dutch)

Irish Grand National | Ratoath, Ireland | April 9th – Over 140 years old, the Irish Grand National is the highly revered and most prestigious handicap steeplechase in Ireland. A highly charged atmosphere to be enjoyed for anyone with even a passing interest in racing… or those looking for a flutter.
Visit the Fairyhouse racecourse pages online

MiArt | Milan, Italy | April 13th - 15th – The International Modern and Contemporary Art Fair looks to reflect and emphasise the spirit of the city it is hosted from, Milan. Split into four sections – Established, Emergent, Solo/Double and Special Project – MiArt presents the heart of the city to an international public as well as invited collectors, through exhibited work, special projects and visits to unique places.
View the MiArt webpages online

Middle East

MinD - Dubai Contemporary | Dubai, UAE | March 14th - April 14th – Standing for 'Made in Dubai', MinD focuses on showcasing the emerging local talent with a mixed programme ranging from video and installations to photography and performance art.
Further details about MinD can be found here

Istanbul International Film Festival | Istanbul, Turkey | March 31st - April 15th – A heady mix of internationally acclaimed films, timeless classics and brand new encounters that make cinema buffs weak at the knees. 235 films spanning 20 categories played out to over 85,000 visitors each year.
Full programme and details online

Vertical Marathon | Dubai, UAE | April 13th – How does climbing 1,334 steps competitively (or non-competitively, if you are so inclined) sound? Well just such an event is all set and ready to go at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers, where the fundraising participants will ascend 52 floors, over a quarter of a kilometre into the sky in aid of charity Médecins Sans Frontières.
Further details about the Vertical Marathon online

F1: Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix | Sakhir, Bahrain | April 20th - 22nd – The fourth fixture in this season's F1 championship also takes place in April, this time on the tracks in Sakhir, 30 km south-west of the island's capital. With a fifteen corner layout offering at least three genuine overtaking opportunities, it will prove to be yet another nail-biting step towards the season close in November in Brazil.
View the track and race details on the F1 webpages

North America

Vancouver International Auto Show | Vancouver, Canada | April 3rd - 8th – Canada's premier Auto Show features all of the latest and greatest that have been gracing the exhibition halls of Detroit, Tokyo and Geneva recently, in the coastal seaport city of Vancouver. With plenty of exhibition room given over to aftermarket product lines as well as the car manufacturers, there's enough to keep enough the most advanced gear-head interested.
Visit the Vancouver Auto Show webpages

Deep Ellum Arts Festival | Dallas, Texas, US | April 6th - 8th – The progressive neighbourhood-wide arts festival that packs in some 200 decorative and visual artists, 100 original bands, singer/songwriters and performance artists. Take in the community party atmosphere and stroll through the displays of decorative sculptures, murals, jewellery, paintings and fine art; heck, if you like the style but want a unique piece, why not commission it there on the spot?
View the Deep Ellum Arts Fest online

Titanic: The Artifacts Exhibiton | Atlanta, Georgia, US | April 6th - September 1st –
Travel back in time and experience the story of the ill-fated Titanic through artifacts recovered from the wreck, the untold stories of those aboard and historically accurate room re-creations. Part of a worldwide calendar of events to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking.
View the Atlanta Titanic Artifacts Exhibition webpages

Live Fire! | Austin, Texas, US | April 26th – As the organisers put it themselves, "A meat-centric live-fire cooking event that showcases top chefs, ingredients and techniques for an unforgettable evening at the famous Salt Lick Pavilion in Driftwood…"
Visit the Live Fire site

South America

Bogotá Latin American Theatre Festival | Bogotá, Colombia | March 23rd - April 8th – A major event on Colombia's cultural calendar, the Bogotá Latin America Theatre Festival transforms the capital with an incredible array of theatre, dance, street shows, circus and puppetry as over 100 companies from around the world perform at indoor and outdoor venues.
Visit the festival webpages online (in Spanish)

Festival International de Ushuaia | Ushuaia, Argentina | March 31st - April 14th – The southernmost city in the world, Ushuaia, plays host to Argentina's International Festival of Classical Music as a mostly Argentinian collection of classical stars joins with a handful of international names to delight with the notes of Tchaikovsky, Mozart and others.
View the Festival International de Ushuaia webpages

Rio Boat Show | Rio de Janiero, Brazil | April 12th - 18th – Showing off the newest of all things nautical, set alongside an entertainment programme, Latin America's largest boat show attracts massive crowds.
Visit the Rio Boat Show online (in Portuguese)

Comida di Buteco | Rio de Janiero | All of April – What better excuse to hit up the bars of Rio de Janiero to sample their finest foods, test the drinks and evaluate the service than at Comida di Buteco? A month-long competition between participating bars where the customers are the judges, voting at this festival happens in bar in the form of a questionnaire, which invariably goes toward improving the bar for next year.
View the event's webpages (in Portuguese)