Caribbean carnival team plans new experiences

Leicester Caribbean Carnival must continue to evolve while respecting "what's gone in the past", the event's new management group has said.

Event manager Ady Alexander said this year's event, on 1 August, would showcase a wider range of Caribbean music genres and offer workshops on aspects of culture "we take for granted in the community".

Alexander, 53, from Western Park, also said a new digital ticketing system would be introduced at this summer's event.

Dennis Christopher, who organised the event for 23 years, said he resigned in June but was still "in the background as a mentor".

The route for the 40th anniversary carnival last year was changed, but the procession this year is due to begin at its usual location in Granville Road, near Victoria Park, and head into the city centre.

Alexander said he hoped new workshops at this year's carnival would encourage attendees to explore Caribbean culture.

He added: "Young and old will be able to take part in things, be able to have a go at things like a steel pan, be able to see how a headdress is made, and then you may want to take that further and actually get involved with that club."

The theme for this year is Crowned by Culture - Caribbean Queens and Kings.

Alexander said: "I think it means remembering those people who started things, like everyone has got a queen in their family or a king.

"We've got to go forward, but at the same time, respect what's gone in the past.

"It's not just going to be one type of music, it's going to be all various genres of Caribbean music, as well as the young people being able to take over an area and have a performance area where they have various musical artists that they want to hear and perform."

Eddie Dublin, 62, from Glenfield, who works in alternative provision education, said: "I love carnival, it is fantastic.

"You go with your friends, and you just take in the atmosphere rather than the music because it is just us - it's about us and what we represent."

Dvybrant Henry, 32, from Bede Park, a musician who loves dancehall and reggae, felt it was "a good thing" that new management had taken on the carnival, which was cancelled in 2024 due to financial difficulties.

He said: "We are the next generation so it's for us to uphold things and progress from there with it.

"Technology is more advanced and having young, fresh minds developing is good for society."

Lisa Millet, 57, a vocalist from Wigston Fields, said: "If the young bloods can kind of steady the ship, then that's all great and also, they need to inherit it, so it stays within the community."

When asked what needed to be improved about the event, Millet said "security" and having to pay to attend the festival in recent years had been "a shock".

Responding to this, Alexander said: "When you look at it and you look at the infrastructure that is there, there's a certain amount of money that we can get as funding.

"But the revenue, the areas that you can get that funding, is always just reduced."

The opening ceremony for Leicester Caribbean Carnival 2026 begins at 12:00 BST in Granville Road before it returns to Victoria Park until 20:00 BST.

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