The famous Carnival Calabar is back for its 20th edition, and the organisers have said that this year’s edition will give sponsors unprecedented mileage.
Speaking during a press conference in Lagos State during the week, Effiong Ekpenyong, the Special Adviser to the Governor of Cross River State on Event Management, who also doubles as the Chairman of the carnival committee, maintained that the forthcoming edition would be interesting, engaging and rewarding.
He said, “A lot has been added to this year’s carnival. It is our flagship brand, but we have other shows as part of the carnival that will keep our guests busy throughout the period.
“For sponsors who want to be part of the carnival, we are promising them a huge mileage. When we started, DSTV was showing the event for one day, but now, it is aired for seven days with more than 50 million people watching in 40 countries.”
Speaking on the inspiration behind this year’s theme, ‘Our Shared Prosperity’, Ekpenyong said, “The themes for our carnivals mean a lot to us, because we put a lot of intellectual work into it. Over the years, we have had very engaging themes, and it is the responsibility of the governor to come up with a theme, and our partners will interpret it through dances and costumes.”
Also speaking, the Chairman of the Cross River State Carnival Commission, Gabe Onah, stated that the carnival had come of age, after enduring a period of evolution. He added that the event was inspired by the desire to ‘tell our story, and empower boys and girls’.
Olaitan Ibrahim