Capital Set to Axe Carnival

Douglas Council’s regeneration and community committee has recommended that island’s capital scrap its annual carnival.

The carnival, which returned after a three year break this summer at a cost of £20,000, is not considered to bring much benefit to Douglas.

In the agenda for the October sitting of the council, due to be held next Wednesday, the committee will recommend that the carnival isn’t held in 2023 and that instead ‘officers explore whether there are alternative, more time and cost effective, methods of generating the community benefits delivered by the Carnival’.

When the carnival was held on Saturday July 23. The weather on the day was pretty awful, causing numerous problems for organisers, particularly in relation to electrical equipment, musical instruments and setting up the stage near the Bees Gees statue.

The agenda adds: ‘The situation was sufficiently serious for the Event Director to consider cancelling the event with short notice. It was noted that had the event been cancelled, the majority of the budget would have been committed or expended. In addition to the substantial budget, the event consumes a great deal of officer time to organise.

‘Despite the success of the carnival in 2022, the organising team remains of the opinion that holding a carnival is not the best use of the Council’s resources. Members concurred with the sentiment of officers and requested that alternative events be explored with a particular focus on events that would bring economic benefit to the City Centre.’

The carnival was only revived in 2015.