Bristol’s biggest carnival, traditionally held on the first Saturday in July, has been cancelled the second year in a row due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
St Paul’s Carnival is a day’s celebration of the rich African-Caribbean culture of the St Paul’s area of the port city and usually attracts more than 100,000 people. The success of the carnival depends on months of creative groundwork with schools and community groups which make costumes and rehearse performances.
After the 2020 carnival was cancelled, a virtual carnival was organised. It proved a massive success, as over 250,000 carnival fans joined the virtual celebration.
LaToyah McAllister-Jones, executive director of the carnival, said: “Large open access events like Carnival are not able to control the numbers that attend. Without selling tickets, there’s no way of knowing where those people come from or travel back to. Despite the fantastic rollout of the vaccination programme, there are still public health risks that we have to take into consideration.”
She assured everyone that the much-needed carnival will return as soon as restrictions ease and the safety and security of carnival-goers can be assured.
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