The annual Caribbean carnival will return this year to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The carnival, an annual fixture across Moss Side and Hulme since 1972, has mostly missed the last two years due to the pandemic.
Organisers ran online events in 2020, and there was a much-reduced ‘mini-carnival’ in 2021, meant as a run-up to the 50th anniversary celebrations this year. Not only will it be celebrating its half-century this year, but it will also coincide with 60 years of Jamaican independence.
The hub of the carnival will as ever be Alexandra Park over the weekend of August 13 and 14, coming together to celebrate the city’s Caribbean culture, music, food and heritage. The carnival will start at 7am on August 13 with a traditional J’ouvert, signalling the beginning of the weekend’s celebrations.
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The main parade will then commence from 12pm. Dancehall icon Serani is also confirmed as the weekend’s main headline music act.
Julia Burke, chair and project manager for the Manchester Carnival Together Committee (CIC) said: “We’re really excited to be able to bring our first full-scale Carnival event as a committee back to the heart of the Afro-Caribbean community of Manchester in August this year. We’re looking forward to the return of the parade and want to encourage as many people as possible to take part.
“The parade will be an array of music, colour, dance and heritage in tribute to the years of carnival history and all are welcome to join the procession that will begin its journey from the park.”
Councillor John Hacking added: "I'm thrilled to be welcoming back the Caribbean Carnival to our streets for the 50th year! The Caribbean Carnival is a brilliant celebration of the diversity of Manchester and Manchester's Afro Caribbean community.
"This year's celebrations will be bigger and better than ever so, I'd encourage everyone in the city to join us in celebrating the momentous 50th anniversary of the carnival."
The carnival originally began as just a few food trucks, stages and sound systems, organised by the communities with origins in Trinidad and St Kitts, before becoming a huge, family-friendly event inviting tens of thousands of people to Alex Park over the weekend in August.
The free event runs from 12pm to 8pm on both days, with more information to be found at the carnival’s website.
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