Calabar Carnival
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Calabar Carnival festival in Nigeria, also known as "Africa's Biggest Street Party" or the "Pride of Nigeria",[1] is an annual carnival in Cross River State, South-Eastern part of Nigeria.[2] The carnival is held every December and was also declared by the then governor Mr. Donald Duke as an activity to mark Christmas celebration and he said his vision for creating the festival was to make Cross-River a home of tourism and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa. Over the years the quality of this festival keeps growing as it has currently become an international festival and Nigeria number one biggest carnival. It used to be a month stretched event which usually start from the 1st of December until Benedict Ayade reduced it to two weeks when he was elected. During the 2017 carnival Governor Ayade said in his speech that the carnival is to showcase Africa as the richest continent and a blessed place where the young ones should be proud to belong. The carnival has always been a prospect one as different competition takes place with huge cash prices, the carnival has always been a colorful one.[3] [4]
History[]
The Calabar Carnival started in 2004 by Governor Donald Duke of Cross River, as a way to promote tourism and improve the local economy[5].[4] 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."[6]
Programmes[]
The programme is drafted each year by the committee in charge of tourism and cultural activities and new initiatives are introduced every year with different topics chosen each year to drive the carnival. 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. This bands can be distinguished by there colors, The Seagull are Red band known as the most stylish and coordinated band, Passion 4 are also known as the Green band as well as the most successful band, Masta Blasta are the orange band as also, the largest band, Bayside are Blue band, and Freedom are Yellow.[7] The Festival also includes 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[8]) Christmas Village, traditional dances and the annual Ekpe Festival is a yearly events that brings in thousands of tourists.[4]
Other activities that make up this carnival include an essay writing competition which involves both secondary school and tertiary students. These competitions are designed to promote reading culture among the youths of the State as well as inculcating the carnival culture.
Participants[]
The event hosts local and international musicians, Nollywood actors and actresses, politicians and other notable men and women from Nigeria and abroad. Some of the entertainers who have attended the carnival include Lucky Dube, Akon, Fat Joe, Young Jeezy, Nelly, Kirk Franklin. 2013 Calabar Carnival was focused on Nigerian artists.[4]
Calabar Carnival 2015, Theme: "Climate Change"[]
The Calabar carnival was held in 2015.[9] The carnival was host to more than 15 countries in 2015 according to the Cross RIver State Governor Mr ben Ayade.[10] The governor adopted beauty queens to form a band known as the governors band.[11]
The Carnival Calabar and Festival 2017, Theme: Migration[]
Migration[12] has a long history in Africa, as it has also been the home of many cultures for many centuries.[13]
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 of "" to tell the African story from the African perspective. The theme was also meant to show that Africa is free from Western Colonization and no longer under their political and economic control.[14]
The 2019 Carnival Calabar and Festival Theme is dubbed "Humanity"[]
The Carnival Calabar theme of "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 culture of the African people, the Carnival Calabar aims 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.[15]
The 2020 Calabar Carnival and Festival[]
In 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions on massive gatherings in the country, the festival was suspended.[16] The Cross River State House of Assembly also called for a suspension of the festival in 2020 due to the mass destruction and looting of goods and infrastructure by hooligans under the auspices of the #EndSARS protest and also due to the Covid 19 pandemic still in full force in the world and in the country.[17]
See also[]
- Festivals in Nigeria