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31-12-2024
ABUJA: The glitzy parade had floats and dancers from many of Nigeria’s different ethnic groups taking part.
A month of celebrations in December draws many partygoers to Calabar, the capital of Cross River state and home to many Christian communities. The organizers say up to two million people attend, the media reports.
At least 14 bands have reportedly taken part in performances and competitions this year.
Most of the carnival goers danced to Afrobeats hits, blaring from giant speakers.
The carnival is marking two decades since it was started. “We are seeing different designs, different costumes,” attendee Grace Job told media. “The energy is so much.”
The carnival draws a wide variety of people to the streets. The troupe pictured below is from the University of Calabar with costumes printed with the institution’s logo.
Some of the costumes referenced the city’s links to the Atlantic slave trade. The one below depicts manilas, the brass bracelets introduced as a form of currency by Portuguese traders and used from the 16th to the 19th Centuries.
This woman’s outfit harks back to colonial times and is dressed as a giant British West Africa penny from the reign of UK monarch George VI. Nigeria gained its independence from Britain in 1960.
“Everyone is trying to showcase the tradition and the culture,” 25-year-old dancer and civil engineering undergraduate Rejoice Elemi told media.
At a stadium in Calabar on Friday night Nigerian music stars Runtown and Iyanya performed at a carnival concert. Calas Vegas went on to won the coveted title of best carnival band for the second year running.
Cross River State sees the carnival now Nigeria’s biggest as a way to draw visitors not just from across Nigeria but also those from the diaspora.
Calabar Carnival is an annual carnival held in Cross River State, Nigeria. Also known as Africa’s Biggest Street Party, the carnival holds every December and was declared by the then governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke as an activity to mark Christmas celebration yearly. He said his vision for creating the festival was to make Cross-River a home of tourism and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa. The quality of the festival has grown over the years making it Nigeria’s biggest carnival and an internationally recognized festival. It used to be a month-long event that began on the 1st of December, until the former governor of the state, Benedict Ayade reduced it to two weeks after he was elected. During the 2017 carnival, Former governor Benedict 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 entertaining and colourful as different competitions take place and huge cash prizes are won. Calabar which is also known by the name Canaan City, is a city in south-eastern Nigeria. Calabar is actually the capital city of Cross River State. Calabar sits adjacent to the Calabar and Great Kwa Rivers and Falls as well as the creeks of the Cross River.
The Calabar Carnival started in 2004 by former governor Donald Duke of Cross River, as a way to promote tourism and improve the local economy. 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.”
The programme is drafted each year by the committee in charge of tourism and cultural activities and new initiatives are introduced with different topics chosen to drive the carnival. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
