Calabar Carnival

Calabar Carnival festival in Nigeria, also tagged "Africa's Biggest Street Party", was created as part of the vision of making the Cross River State, Nigeria, the number one tourist destination for Nigerians and tourists from all over the world. The carnival which begins every 1 December and lasts until 31 December has boosted the cultural mosaic of the Nigerian people while entertaining millions of spectators within the state, outside the state and foreigners, hence boosting industry for all stakeholders.[1]

History

The Calabar Carnival[1] started in 2004, when the governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, had a vision of making the state a hub for tourism and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa.The Carnival presents a perfect platform from brand visibility for consumer and market awareness. "According to Osima-Dokubo, the carnival aimed to include more aspects of local heritage and culture and at the same time strengthen the capacity of the locals to participate in an economically beneficial way." Recently, Cross River State has become the pride of Nigeria in the areas of tourism, carnivals and hospitality.

Programmes

The programme of the event at the carnival are drafted each year by the committee in charge of tourism and cultural activities and new initiatives are introduced every year. In December 2009, Carnival Committee organized "Carnival Cup 2009", a football competition amongst the five competing carnival bands - Seagull, Passion 4, Masta Blasta, Bayside and Freedom. The Festival also included music performance from both local and international artists, the annual Calabar Carnival, Boat regatta, Fashion shows (introduced in 2016), Beauty pageant (Miss Africa introduced in 2016[2]) Christmas Village, traditional dances and the annual Ekpe Festival is a yearly events that brings in thousands of tourists.[1]

Other activities that make up this carnival include Essay Writing Competition which involves both secondary school and tertiary students. These competitions are aimed at resuscitating the reading culture among the youths of the State as well as inculcating the carnival culture.

Participants

The event hosts top local and international musicians, Nollywood Actors and actresses, Politicians and other notable men and women from across the globe. Some of the entertainers who have attended the carnival include Lucky Dube, Akon, Fat Joe, Young Jeezy, Nelly, Kirk Franklin, and many more have thrilled the large crowd of Nigerians and tourists from outside the country. Due to the large crowd and fans that Nigerian artists have, 2013 Calabar Carnival was focused on Nigerian artist.[1]

Calabar Carnival 2015

The Calabar carnival was held in 2015.[3]

The Carnival Calabar and Festival 2017, Theme: Migration

Migration[4] has a long history in Africa, as it has also been the home of many cultures for many centuries. During the era of slavery and colonialism, Africa was the home for many foreigners. Now it has become the land of opportunities.

This time the world recognizes it as the new frontier, not to be exploited for the benefits of others but to be cultivated on its own. The Calabar Carnival and Festival is an opportunity to bring people together in going beyond tribal and religious conflicts. It also showcases Africa's talent and several opportunities.[5]

The Carnival Calabar and Festival 2018 Theme "Africanism"

In the 2018 edition, making it the 15th edition since its inception in 2004, the Cross River State Governor, Sen, Benedict Ayade introduced a new theme tagged "Africanism" to tell the African story from the African perspective; thereby bringing the global attention to the plight of Africa. The theme was also meant to show that Africa is free from Western Colonization and no longer under their political and economic control.[6]

The 2019 Carnival Calabar and Festival Theme is dubbed "Humanity"

Peaceful coexistence among humans has always been a problem from the beginning of time, so, the Carnival Calabar themed, "Humanity" was created to challenge mankind that every human being has a right to existence. The theme was also meant to charge mankind not to be a source of pain to another person's life. Apart from dancing and displaying the rich culture of the African people, the Carnival Calabar serves as an opportunity to address the world's problems, in which inhumanity is a part. As Governor Benedict Ayade flagged this year's theme - Humanity he emphasized the need for all to shun war as this does not depict the true personalities of those who claim they are humane to humanity.[7]

See also

References
  1. Ifop, Frankie (25 December 2016). "History of Carnival Calabar, It Bands & More". Paradise News. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  2. "Miss Africa Archives". Paradise News. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  3. "CALABAR CARNIVAL 2015". Nigerian Tourist Guide. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 13 March 2016.
  4. "CRSG Reveals 2017 Carnival Calabar Theme". Paradise News. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  5. http://carnivalcalabar.net/
  6. "Carnival Calabar 2018 Theme Dubbed 'Africanism'". Paradise News. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  7. "Carnival Calabar 2019 Theme Is "Humanity" - Ayade". Paradise News. 16 August 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2019.

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