Brighton Carnival

Dear all

It is with immeasurable sadness, disappointment, frustration and shock, that we have to report that the licence for this year's Carnival was withdrawn by the Council just before close of business yesterday. One of the most humbling aspects of volunteering for over a year on a free community music festival - the last, we believe, of its kind on the South Coast - has been the huge amount of goodwill and love for the Carnival itself. Over 400 volunteers were ready to give their time and energy, artist rehearsals had taken place, contractors were booked, and time and financial outlay already sunk. It hurts us to know that some of you reading this will be among those who have lost out in this respect. This is of course in addition to the loss to the community of the event itself, which for us, was the start of this whole journey.

We respect the decision of the events team at the council, and the team themselves, who have expressed a desire to work with the Carnival on a future event. It has been an absolute privilege to work with all involved, and we could not wish more success for the future of the Carnival. Until yesterday, we truly believed that we were set to buck the sad trend of the closure of our local community, volunteer-run festivals, and are side-swiped by this decision.

We trust you will understand if we are a little slow to reply to messages over the weekend, while this news sinks in, but if you have any questions, please do send them to communityliaison@brighton-carnival.org and we will address them in due course.

Thank you all for the Carnival love.
Brighton Carnival Events Committee.