This year, Brazil Carnival, Notting Hill Carnival of London, Indonesia Carnival, Düsseldorf Carnival of Germany and the Carnival of Italy will be joined for the first time by the Carnival from France and the Cologne Carnival of Germany, to parade side-by-side in Seychelles in the island’s carnival. The Carnival has been called the “Carnival of Carnivals”. Press writing about this event have acknowledged that it is no easy feat to bring all the top carnivals of the world parade together in a carnival. Seychelles has now succeeded in bringing these carnivals together to stage an event which is regarded very much as being the “United Nations of Culture” gathering. Cultural troupes from the Community of Nations also descend on these mid-ocean islands to parade with the top carnivals of the world.
Seychelles is the venue where the world of carnivals brings visibility to the world of culture, because countries sending cultural troupes fly their national flags in front of a large bank of international press and media houses, thereby gaining unlimited visibility for their respective tourism industries. Seychelles is to be congratulated by everyone for having added a cultural event that was not only needed, but also serves as a cross-over between tourism and culture events on the world’s calendar. The cultural troupes performing in Seychelles draw attention to the tourism industries of their countries and the carnival delegations help participating countries to appreciate their own and one another’s cultures.
For Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture, the carnival in Seychelles remains a cultural event that goes beyond politics, skin colour and religious beliefs. “In Seychelles at the carnival, people from anywhere are respected as human beings. Their skin colour, religious beliefs or their countries’ politics are immaterial. Here, they are simply proud cultural ambassadors of their respective countries,” tbe Minister declared.
The 2016 edition of the Carnaval International de Victoria in Seychelles will be staged from April 22 to 24 and is being co-hosted by Reunion Island and South Africa. Twenty-three international delegations have confirmed that they will attend this year’s carnival in Seychelles, where more than 125 international press- and media houses have already been accredited to cover the event.
