Cash-hit Caribbean carnival will move to the city centre
By peter squires
Organisers are planning to hold this year's Caribbean carnival in Leicester city centre.
Normally the event, which attracts more than 80,000 people, is held at Victoria Park after a parade through the city's streets.
But chairman Dennis "Sugar" Christopher said in a statement that this year's event would be staged in the city's pedestrianised areas as there was "not enough money in the kitty" for an event at the park.
The carnival usually costs about £200,000 to stage. Nobody from the event was available yesterday to say by how much the kitty was short, or how much it would cost to stage the event in the city centre.
The statement said this year's carnival would have the theme of Myths, Folklore and Culture.
"The carnival will see a main stage in Humberstone Gate with performances throughout the day, a Gospel Fest featuring music, song and dance at Town Hall Square and a cultural display at the Clock Tower," it added.
"High Street, Humberstone Gate and the Cultural Quarter will also include stalls selling a variety of items including art and craft and food from all over the world."
There will still be the traditional parade of troupes and floats. It will start and end at Victoria Park, as usual, but will wind its way around the city on a slightly different route than in previous years.
Organisers hope to have street artists perform in the city centre while the crowd waits for the procession to arrive.
The statement gave no information about when the carnival would take place, but a spokesman for Leicester City Council said it was likely to be Saturday, August 6.
"However, the details of exactly what will happen in the city centre have yet to be confirmed," he added.
"There will have to be discussions with the various emergency services, highways, health and safety, licensing and food safety team etcetera before this is finalised."
Max Boden, policy advisor for Leicester Chamber of Commerce, said city centre businesses would benefit if it was held there rather than on the park.
"Traders like events such as the continental markets and the Christmas lights switch-on because they bring people in," he said.
Mr Boden said the chamber of commerce wanted to attract more people into the city.
"We cannot afford to turn away anything like the number of people brought in by the carnival," he said.
However, Mr Boden said some businesses on the procession route, such as restaurants and hotels, might be concerned about the lack of a definite date in case they had advance bookings which could be adversely affected by the road closures or activities.