This week, St Pauls Carnival announced it will be making a full return to the streets of Bristol including the first Carnival Day in three years. In the weeks prior to Carnival, set for July 1, 2023, there will be a string of fringe events to mark 75 years since the HMT Empire Windrush arrived in Great Britain as well as 60 years since Bristol's Bus Boycott.
Each Carnival celebration is different across the UK and the world, but there is a uniqueness about St Pauls Carnival in the way it works to incorporate all of the voices and experiences of the community. LaToyah McAllister-Jones, executive director of St Pauls Carnival, recalled her first-ever Carnival experience in Notting Hill as a child.
"The experience of that as an eight-year-old blew my mind," she said. "Forty years later here I am and that to me is the impact of Carnival. Young people who are inspired by Carnival and able to become part of the community.
