Pictured: Elegant effigies go up in flames at Valencia’s festival of fire

One of Europe’s biggest street festivals has been taking place in Spain during which huge cardboard figures are set alight. 

The annual Fallas Festival in Valencia sees revelers flock to the city in their thousands to participate in the tradition, which marks the arrival of spring.

The temporary structures or “falla” are huge ornate cardboard sculptures made to eventually be burnt and often portray current events and celebrities. 

Las Fallas originates from an old tradition where carpenters burnt pieces of wood that were used to prop up their lights during the winter to commemorate the arrival of spring on March 19.

Carpenters are thought to have begun adding personal belongings and fabric to the fires, and the structures gradually developed into the ornate characters seen today which are known as “ninots”.

The annual competition allows anyone to create their own entry but many professional teams work on their ninots for an entire year.

The cardboard structures are displayed and judged during the celebrations throughout March and on the final night, all the fallas must be burnt. The prize winner is the final to be burnt.