Luton Carnival

Luton Carnival
Location(s)	Luton, Bedfordshire, England
Inaugurated	1976
Genre	carnival

Luton International Carnival is a carnival in Luton, Bedfordshire.

Taking place on the late May bank holiday Monday every year and attended by over 150,000 people each year,^{[citation needed]} the procession starts at Wardown Park in Luton before making its way down New Bedford Road, around the Town Centre via St George's Square, and back down New Bedford Road to finish up back in Wardown Park.

History

The first carnival in Luton was in 1976 on a much smaller scale than today as a modest Victorian street fair as part of the Borough Council's centenary celebrations.^{[citation needed]} The carnival developed and evolved over the years and in 1998 Luton Carnival acquired international status, receiving the largest single lottery award for carnival development.^{[citation needed]}

In 2000, to mark the beginning of the new millennium, Luton celebrated with an expanded three-day event with more than 140,000 revelers taking to the streets for the massive international event.^{[citation needed]}

Luton International Carnival is organised by Luton Borough Council Arts Development Unit in partnership with the Luton Carnival Arts Development Trust. The Carnival is sponsored by Bedfordshire Newspapers (Luton Herald and Post and The Luton News) and by local radio stations BBC Three Counties Radio and 97.6 Chiltern FM.^{[citation needed]}

The 2007 carnival, due to take place on Bank Holiday Monday 28 May, was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions. Major flooding, following 24 hours of heavy rain, meant New Bedford Road was impassible, and Wardown Park was waterlogged. This was the first time that the carnival was called off.^{[citation needed]} In addition, continuing high winds meant that stages and other temporary structures were unable to be erected due to safety concerns.

The Luton Carnival is said to be the second largest in the UK (Notting Hill being the largest).

See also

• Caribbean Carnival
• Caribbean music in the United Kingdom
• British Afro-Caribbean community
• Festivals in the United Kingdom
• Notting Hill Carnival
• West Country Carnival

External links

• Luton International Carnival
• Luton Borough Council, Carnival
• BBC Beds, Herts and Bucks reports on the Carnival: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 (cancelled), 2008, 2009, 2010
• UK Centre for Carnival Arts
• Luton Carnival Arts Development Trust, Registered Charity no. 1107790 at the Charity Commission