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‘Incredibly difficult decision’ taken to cancel St Paul’s Carnival 2026
The organisers of St Paul’s Carnival have confirmed that a full-scale event will not go ahead in 2026 but promise that the cancellation will enable a “transition” and be “an important opportunity to strengthen the organisation, deepen community involvement, and help ensure that Carnival can return in future years in a way that is safe, sustainable and worthy of its legacy”.
The annual carnival is run by a community interest company (CIC) who on Tuesday announced that the event scheduled to take place on July 4 will not be able to be delivered “safely and sustainably… at the scale and size the public, participants and the wider community have come to expect”.
The last full-scale St Paul’s Carnival was held in 2023, with a “scaled-down” event in 2025 still attracting thousands of people onto the streets as the community came together to host their own celebrations.
More than 120,000 people attended the 2023 celebration of African-Caribbean culture, after which it was revealed that 2024 would be a fallow year for what was meant to become a biannual carnival.
New organisers say they have explored “several revised delivery models” including a reduced geographic footprint but “it is clear that a full-scale Carnival, including the procession, cannot be delivered this year without exposing the organisation to an unacceptable level of operational and financial risk”.
In a statement, the St Paul’s Carnival CIC board said: “This has been an incredibly difficult decision and one that we know will be disappointing for the community and the wider public.
“St Paul’s Carnival is a unique and deeply valued celebration of African Caribbean culture, heritage and community, and we fully recognise the disappointment many people will feel.
“Over the past year, we have worked closely with the community, our partners and operational teams to explore how the full Carnival could return in a way that reflects both the cultural significance of the event and the operational realities involved in delivering a free-to-attend public street event which attracts 150,000 people..
“Despite considerable work to reduce costs and reshape the model, as a board we have ultimately reached the conclusion that delivering a full-scale Carnival in 2026 is not viable.
“Our responsibility must always be to protect the safety of the public, volunteers, artists, traders, staff and everyone involved in bringing Carnival to life.
“Delivering an event which has grown to this scale in recent years requires substantial infrastructure, safety management, staffing and financial resources.
“Like many cultural and live events organisations across the UK, we face increasing financial pressure on infrastructure, staffing, safety, security, compliance and delivery costs.
“Despite extensive fundraising activity and ongoing partner support, the gap between available resources and the costs required to deliver Carnival safely and responsibly remained too significant for 2026.
“While a full-scale Carnival will not take place this summer, our work to celebrate, protect and invest in Carnival’s cultural legacy absolutely continues.
“This is not the end of Carnival. It is a necessary reset to help ensure its long-term future.”
Despite no full event, the St Paul’s Carnival board say they “remain committed to delivering a programme of community and cultural activity throughout 2026”.
Smaller events will include costume-making workshops, cultural and educational work with young people, and “a family-focused Carnival celebration in St Paul’s later this summer”.
A new training and development programme has also been designed “to support local people to play a greater role in the future delivery of Carnival”.
Main photo: Rob Browne; videos: Martin Booth
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