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Bristol’s annual celebration of African and Caribbean culture, St Pauls Carnival, returns this summer to the city’s streets under the theme of Learning from Legends.
The 2023 celebration will commence with a series of fringe events from 22 June, marking the Windrush 75th Anniversary, and will culminate in the iconic day-long traditional Caribbean street carnival on Saturday 1 July.
This year will mark the first full carnival day since 2019, which will see over 100,000 people celebrate in the heart of Bristol’s St Pauls neighbourhood.
The Learning from Legends theme will be particularly poignant to Bristol’s African Caribbean community following the passing on 3 August last year of Bristol Bus Boycott activist and Carnival forefather, Roy Hackett MBE.
2023 marks 60 years since Bristol’s Bus Boycott when Roy spearheaded a months’ long boycott of the Bristol Omnibus Company challenging its systemic racial discrimination in recruitment. His actions and those of other fellow Bristolians paved the way for the Race Relations Act 1965. The University of Bristol University awarded Roy a doctorate in science at his funeral.
This year also sees the 75th anniversary of HMT Empire Windrush arriving in Britain on 22 June 1948. This important historic event will be marked in the traditional fringe events in the run up to the 1 July and on the day itself.
The iconic celebration of Bristol’s African-Caribbean culture the St Pauls Carnival will return in three weeks taking place Saturday, July 1st, celebrating the theme of Learning from Legends.
Following tradition, the carnival will host a stellar line-up of musical and creative talent from Bristol to capture the carnival vibes. At the 55th edition of the event, carnival attendees can expect Afro-Caribbean-inspired rhythms, world music, and contemporary dance tracks.
The Roy Hackett Memorial Stage
The Roy Hackett Memorial Stage will be this year’s main stage located in St Pauls Learning Centre Green, celebrating the legacy of Bristol activist, community elder and civil rights pioneer Roy Hackett. This stage will feature many of Bristol's greats spanning across genres such as Reggae, Dub, Hip Hop, Spoken Word, Afrobeats, UK Funky, and more.
The artists announced to perform on this stage include The Horseman and The Uppercut Band, Talisman, Laid Blak, Dallas, Moyah, Da Fuchaman and his Fire Blaze Band, Josephine Gyasi, Zed Regal.
Raising Legends
Situated in St Pauls Park the Raising Legends stage curated by Aspiration Creation Elevation will offer carnival attendees the opportunity to enjoy the fresh emerging talent straight out of Bristol.
Celebrating the future Bristol legends, headline artists for this stage include DJ McCoy Sway, DJ Eazy, DJ Chloe Sage, BORN2BE Records, and Creative Power Town.
Radical Roots
Radical Roots is the carnival’s newest stage and can be found Brunswick Square. This new stage welcomes a blend of activist-led cultural arts featuring some of Bristol's best artists performing music, spoken word, dance and more.
Headlie artists include Lawrence Hoo, Solomon O.B, Bristol Windrush Reggae Choir, Malizah, Foli - Bristol Djembe Players and The Golden Guild.
Radical Roots - Booty Bass Takeover
The Radical Roots stage will be taken over by Booty Bass from 16:45 – 22:00. Booty Bass are a collective of female and non-binary DJ’s taking over for an evening of big, bad, unapologetic bangers from around the globe.
Headline artists for this takeover include Booty Bass, GROVE (dancehall set), NGAIO, Bungzo, Hannza, Kofo and Garoëss.
Mandela's Hideaway
Returning this year is the official family and children's stage Mandela’s Hideaway. Performances on this stage will showcase local youth talent & grassroots artists, African and Caribbean workshops including arts & crafts, dance, drumming, storytelling, wooden play, sensory spaces and more. Located in St Agnes park, this stage will feature headline acts perfect for the whole family including Whiske XMP, Lorna Da Angel, Jethro Sherran, Texxus Redmoney, YBGT showcase & Krush Landing.
