A change of government in Seychelles and the resignation of the country’s tourism minister have cast doubt on the future of the Indian Ocean republic’s popular Carnaval International de Victoria.
Rumours that the carnival was to be cancelled were rife after President James Alix Michel’s Parti Lepep, which had ruled for 25 years, lost power to an opposition coalition and Seychelles’ dynamic tourism minister, Alain St Ange, resigned in order to run for the post of secretary-general of the UN World Tourism Organization.
St Ange developed the carnival concept as a way of boosting tourism when the country’s economy was being damaged by the global economic crash and depredations by Somali pirates. From the first event in 2011 it has proved a huge success, attracting carnival groups and media attention from around the world.
The well-organised festival is seen – particularly in Africa as a successful example of a ‘tourism carnival’. The Seychellois were swift to take the carnival to their heart, with more than half the country’s population flocking to the capital, Victoria, to watch the three-day programme of adults’ and children’s parades, concerts and open-air stage shows. St Ange’s flair for publicity and the hugely increased media exposure the carnival generated are credited with doubling tourism arrivals in just five years.
British carnivalists have played their part too. Notting Hill Carnival Roadshow compilation mas band, organised by former NHC chief executive Claire Holder, is a crowd favourite and has won the international crown at the Carnaval International de Victoria every year but one. Soca News has reported from the event for the past five years and seen it improve year on year.
Although some news outlets announced in January that the carnival had been cancelled, a government source told Soca News that a new date would be found for the carnival. All events of this kind are now the responsibility of a new body, the Creative Industries and National Events Agency (CINEA). Its chief executive, Galen Bresson, is MP for Bel Ombre and also a well-known DJ and MC – he was compere of the 2015 carnival opening show.
Some Seychellois commentators have suggested that the carnival (which normally takes place on the last weekend of April) and the Creole Festival (scheduled for the last week of October) should be merged.
