St Pauls Carnival to be held every two years due to funding challenges

Bristol's St Pauls Carnival will now take place every two years instead of being an annual event due to funding challenges.

The street party returned to the city at the start of July for the first time since 2019 due to cancellations caused by the pandemic.

It has been hailed a "great success" with more than 100,000 going along.

The event celebrates Afro Caribbean culture through song, art, music and movement all year round before a colourful procession through the St Pauls area of Bristol on Carnival Day.

However, organisers have outlined that they "cannot sustain" running the full carnival each year, with £250,000 needing to be raised by the charity per event.

The future of the event and how it can return is being looked into and organisers are urging people to get behind and support it.

A full-scale carnival is now set to be held every two years, with 2024 seeing the return to the community Back-a-Yard format which ran during the pandemic. The schools’ and education programme is also set to continue.

Executive director LaToyah McAllister-Jones said: “The event landscape has changed in this post-Covid era, and we are seeing other non-ticket events experiencing similar pressures to us.

"We thank everyone who donated and supported us this year, however, the reality is that only a very small proportion of people contribute compared with those who attend.

"We have to raise in excess of £250,000 – 50% of the cost to safely run an event of this scale in Bristol. As a free-to-attend street event which gets a small proportion of donations compared to other events in the city, we cannot sustain running the full carnival every year.

"Our message is clear – if you want St Pauls Carnival back on the streets in all its authentic glory – we need to recognise and accept its true cost and work together to make it happen."