Carnival organisers ‘victims of scapegoating’

St Pauls Carnival organisers have claimed to be victims of “scapegoating another black-led organisation” after the council withdrew its funding.

The council and Arts Council England cancelled their annual funding to St Paul’s Afrikan Caribbean Carnival Ltd, saying they had “lost confidence” in the board after it failed to deliver a carnival this year.

The council has promised to reserve the cash for an alternative organisation to make sure the 50th anniversary carnival takes place in 2018.

Carnival trustees criticised the council for a “divide and rule” approach and the speed with which they made their announcement.

George Ferguson, mayor of Bristol, has defended the move, saying he is helping to protect the carnival’s future.

The carnival trustees said in a statement on Wednesday: “We are very disappointed that key funders Bristol City Council and Arts Council England have chosen not to continue their support of this African Caribbean event, despite our tireless efforts to meet funding conditions against a backdrop of barriers and hurdles. We believe that this is the wrong decision.

“We attended a meeting at 11am on the 3rd of November and were shocked that an official press release was prepared and out by the time we returned to the Carnival office less than 30 minutes later.

“Despite the powers that be not allowing us to hold the the main carnival event this year through sheer determination we delivered a Grass Roots showcase event which was a success in terms of putting the community, artists and the culture at the heart and it was well supported by the community. This was not good enough for the funders.

“We will do everything in our power to ensure that culture and heritage is the key focus of the work we deliver while maintaining a cohesive and inclusive approach to our diverse community of Bristol.

“We will be continuing to work in unity with like minded people and organisations and hope that members of the community are not mislead (sic) by the scapegoating of another Black led organisation.”

The carnival board will be holding a community meeting where they will invite the funders to explain their decision from 6pm on Friday, November 13 at the Malcolm X Centre.

The statement added: “Solidarity is what is needed here not divide and rule, we welcome all the community to attend this solution focused meeting to support a sustainable way forward with the community at the helm.”

Ferguson responded: “I am absolutely at one with the organisers in wanting to see the carnival continue successfully in the future. They are passionate, deeply committed people and I thank them for it. However it has become increasingly evident that there isn’t the capacity and resource in place to safely manage an event of this size.

“Ultimately, the funding is being withheld because the organising committee – not the council – cancelled the carnival twice and couldn’t deliver what was promised when they applied for funding.

“We must see a credible, community based, culturally and artistically relevant and business-minded approach to delivering the event in future.

“I’m sure some of the same individuals will have important roles to play, but we cannot gamble with public money when the evidence shows us that the odds of the event taking place safely and successfully are as limited as they have been.”.

Read more: Funding for St Pauls Carnival withdrawn