Calabar Carnival projected African beauty, culture & heritage, 2 million visitors attended

The rich cultural history and heritage was depicted in a much-adored symbolic fashion at seemingly longest and largest tourism event in West Africa. The Calabar Carnival festival in Nigeria, which is also tagged as ‘Africa’s Biggest Street Party’, begins every year on December 1 and lasts till December 31.

The Calabar Carnival 2018 festival was absolutely filled with enthusiasm, color and glamor that attracted over two million tourists from across the world. Even those could not attend the festival in the port city of Calabar glued their eyes on the television screens.

The festival is usually a 32-day annual street party from December 31 to January 1, and this year’s edition particularly, under the theme ‘Africanism’ was used to tell the story of the African race. The participants were highly costumed to attract the eyeballs that undeniably reflected the cultural heritage of the African people. The drama, music, dance and costume showcased by the participants were all creatively tailored to tell a particular story about the African race.

More than 26 nations from various continents joined the Calabar Carnival in Nigeria. The displaying of cultures and heritages of various countries were the main attractions at the festival. Among the list of nations that participated in the International Carnival competition were Ghana’s Carnival Queens, Indonesia, Mexico, Tanzania, Lithuania, Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, Senegal, Switzerland, USA, Canada and Ukraine. At the end of the competition, the 1st prize was awarded to Switzerland, while the second and third prize were given to Mexico and Lithuania, respectively.

Calabar Carnival was started in 2004 Donald Duke, Cross River State’s Governor had an aim of making the state a hub for tourism and hospitality in Nigeria and Africa. The carnival is mainly aimed to include more aspects of local heritage and culture added with strengthening the capacity of the locals to participate in an economically beneficial way.