Carnival 2018: Parade float designs unveiled

Floats in Germany's Carnival parades often poke fun at top political figures. Past parades have targeted Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin, among others. Above, the new head of the Cologne parade, Alex Dieper, presents drawings of floats the crowds can expect to see rumbling down the city's streets on Rose Monday in February. The parade draws up to 1 million revelers.

Every November, artists start designing the floats that will roll through more than 7 kilometers of downtown city streets just a few months later. Around 11,000 people have signed up to join the Cologne Rose Monday parade this year, including about 100 marching bands and 100 floats. The first Rose Monday parade in Cologne, called the "Zoch," took place in 1823.

Global or local, from the worlds of politics, sports or entertainment — the possibilities are endless. Above, two unwitting polar bears dance a last tango as time runs out due to climate change. In one way or another, this year's Carnival motto in Cologne — "We Cologne folk dance to our own tune" — is also bound to show up in various floats in Germany's largest Rose Monday parade.

The #MeToo movement also seems to have inspired the creators of this year's Carnival parade floats. Sexual harassment is an issue in the above draft, with a man wearing a pig mask touching a girl portrayed as Bärbelchen, a traditional Cologne character.

For the first time ever, a Jewish community has decided to participate in a Carnival parade, resorting to humor in the fight against rising anti-Semitism. Heinrich Heine, the renowned 19th century poet, is portrayed wearing a skullcap and prayer shawl in a float for the parade in Düsseldorf, the state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city's most famous son was Jewish.