What's On
Manchester Caribbean Carnival given green light for ‘mini’ event this weekend
The Manchester Caribbean Carnival 2020 was cancelled as a result of the pandemic
The annual Manchester Caribbean Carnival will be going ahead this weekend after organisers were given permission to host a ‘one day celebration of community, heritage and music.’
Manchester Carnival Together will be taking place this Saturday, September 4th, at Alexandra Park in Moss Side in a ‘mini’ event, ‘Road to Carnival 50’ that will run from 1pm – 7pm.
However, the scaled down event will still boast two live stages hosting a variety of musical performances, steel pans, dance, and DJs along with community staples, food and a funfair.
@zainz / Instagram
Councillor Luthfur Rahman, deputy leader of Manchester council, said: “It’s wonderful to see events return to our communities after a tough year. These events are so important to celebrate the city’s cultures and carnival has been entrenched in Manchester’s calendar for decades – this feels like a real reawakening.
“As ever, carnival will be a family-friendly day but this year slightly smaller to ensure we can keep the event as Covid-19 safe as possible. We know this event was sorely missed last year and we’re really looking forward to bringing carnival back to the community.”
Despite the lifting of all Covid restrictions, however, the carnival will be following government guidelines, such as encouraging attendees to take a free Covid test the day before the event.
Last year, the Manchester Caribbean Carnival was fully cancelled over safety concerns amid the Covid levels in and around the city.
@zainz / Instagram
Before the pandemic, the annual summer festival, which began in 1972, would attract around 30,000 visitors a year to the Moss Side area of the city.
The original organisers of the event had a desire to familiarise the white and black people of Manchester and generate a feeling of solidarity and happiness among the community, which was facing a divide in the 1970s.
Next year, the carnival will be celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, where it is expected to celebrate with its usual weekend-long full scale event.