Calabar Carnival Sets Stage for Another Cultural Extravaganza

Charles Ajunwa
 

It was an evening of fun, colours and conviviality as some beautifully decorated band groups and two local artistes entertained guests in Lagos, during the unveiling of the 2026 Carnival Calabar theme- ‘Rethinking Our Collective Destiny’. 

Present at the event were Cross River State Governor, Bassey Out; his Deputy, Peter Odey; former Cross River Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke; former First Lady of Cross River, Mrs. Onari Duke; Speaker of Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ekom Ayambem and former Tourism Minister, Chief Edem Duke, among several other dignitaries.

In his speech, Governor Otu said he considered it amazing how time flies, as they barely concluded the activities of the 20th Anniversary of the Carnival Calabar and Festivals.

The governor, who is the chief marketer of Carnival Calabar, said going by international best practices, every year’s carnival starts with a theme unveiling.

“Each year’s Carnival Calabar theme is therefore a code to be cracked by all the participating Bands through props, costumes, choreography and aesthetics interpretations.

“Meanwhile, for us in Cross River State, the Carnival theme unveiling goes beyond the symbolic ceremonial commencement of carnival activities. It is rather the opening of a vista of opportunities for the development and expansion of businesses, especially the informal sector; the creation of an enabling environment for home-coming and family bonding. So for us, as we unveil the Carnival Theme, we are simultaneously presenting both leisure and business offerings to everyone; which are too inviting and compelling to ignore,” he said. 

According to him, “In order to have a robust outing in this year’s Carnival Calabar and Festivals, we are galvanising the efforts of Cross Riverians in the diaspora in terms of participation; propagation of the Carnival brand abroad as well as securing material support. A framework for the streaming of the carnival and the monetisation of its contents have also been worked out. 

“In order to remain competitive in the tourism ecosystem the Creative Economy of Cross River State is currently undergoing a comprehensive overhaul, by creating more tourism assets which in turn will facilitate employment opportunities and generate revenue. These will immensely have a pull on repeat and new tourists to the state.  

“While we strive to maintain our enviable position in the National and International Tourism landscape as the proud organisers of the ‘Africa’s Biggest Street Party’ – the Carnival Calabar, we need your continuous support. Existing and potential sponsors should not relent; as we are poised to give their products a richer and wider visibility with assured returns on their investments,” Otu added.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Cross River State Carnival Commission, Gabe Onah, said this year’s Carnival Calabar would be participatory and inclusive, as they intend to give communities and participants the power to make choices.

“Something new is about to happen, and it takes guts. Ten years ago, one of the strong band leaders encouraged us to introduce online voting, introduced by most carnivals of the world. Carnival Calabar having been adjudged as one of the best carnivals by the most influential people of African descent and is rated as one of the best.

“When the governor came on board, he said, we must change the narrative. He said that this business was great, and we saw how he looked at it. For the business of Carnival Calabar, we’ve discovered that lessons learned, our young boys and girls must earn a living, and the only way that will happen is through a soft entry.

“We have decided to identify all the products and articles in Carnival Calabar. We have decided to create technical partners. The idea of the governor is to introduce online voting, to see how the communities get on board. So, the beginning of this new thing is that we want to change the narrative, and that is to create the economy and commercialise the sector,” he said.  

He added that the international partners will create films that would resonate with the Calabar carnival. 

International contractor for Carnival Calabar, Ikechi Uko, said the Carnival Calabar has always been intentional since 2004, when the idea was conceived.

He implored tour operators, travel agents, and tourism promoters to market Carnival Calabar to the whole world, noting that the product is  world-class.

“Cross River is eager to sell Carnival Calabar as a tourism product,” he said, adding, “I have been to all the biggest festivals in the world. I can tell you Carnival Calabar is contemporary. 

“In terms of Carnival Calabar and Festival, Cross River State has been intentional from the beginning. They gave birth to Detty December. And if you notice in the last two years, every picture of Detty December in all global media- BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, they use visuals of Carnival Calabar. 

“So when the Minister of Tourism in 2004, tried to create what he called the Harmatan  Season for tourism, Cross River took the initiative and initiated Carnival Calabar. The governors since then have helped Nigeria and Africa to create a powerful tourism brand. Now, Nigeria has a product that we’re proud we can take to the world,” Uko stated. 

In his remarks, National President of the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), Dr. Aliyu Badaki, said, “What we witnessed that last year, was marvelous, and I can assure you, this year, on the side of the tourism industry, from the travel agencies, tour operators, the tourism practitioners, we promise you that we are going to be there. In a country like ours, this is what is expected; if a state can champion an event like this, a cultural festival year in, year out, bringing people together from all over the world. It’s huge, making people happy, contributing to their living, you can see the costumes, locally fabricated, you can imagine what the locals will benefit from it, during the event, and we do hope that we keep this flag flying.”

Executive Director, General Entertainment at Multichoice, Busola Tejumola, said having evolved for over 15 years, Carnival Calabar would be able to curate stories that explain the costumes and cultural heritage of the people of Cross River. She promised a continued partnership with organisers of Carnival Calabar. 

Some awards were presented to winners of different categories of the 2026 Carnival Calabar. Former Tourism Minister, Duke, leader of CalasVegas band, presented two of the international awards they won in India to  Governor Otu.