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Carnival '08
Photographs by Patrick Trollope &
report by Marion knight
AN explosion
of colour and sound hit the streets as Liverpool on 2 August 2008.
Yes it was Carnival Time! The Carnival 08 was the very
first Rio style Carnival parade on a Saturday evening, in Liverpool,
and if all goes to plan it will be held again next year!
The Batala Band from Liverpool led the parade, (which started on
time) followed by a wide range of floats, bands and dancers from all
over the UK Europe and Brazil.
Floats included a giant dragon, sea monsters, and a model of John
Lennon. A spokesman from the Suffolk School of Samba in red and
white was impressed at the welcome they had received.
The Mangueira Band from Brazil in yellow and white with feathered
hats were clearly enjoying themselves as they kept up a rhythmic
drum beat for the scantily clad ladies in a riot of feathers who
danced through the streets.
Locals and visitors
joined forces to line the route with a grandstand of spectators on
the steps of St. Luke's Church, the whole of the city centre dancing
along and smiling at the spectacle. A group of girls on
'Claire's hen night' with black t-shirts and fuchsia net
skirts joined in the parade. It was an experience they won't forget.
Visitors from London
commented:- "What a friendly city - it's our first visit, but
we'll be back!" Another party from London who also appreciated their
welcome, were taking the attraction of the city and its environs as
well as the Gormley Statues and Port Sunlight. One of the many
dancers from Brazil said:- "What an amazing city. This has been
fantastic and very enjoyable! We hope the people of Liverpool
enjoyed it as much as we did." Such comments were echoed by
many, from far and wide; local people were very satisfied too.
One of the many stewards, all of whom performed a fantastic job,
said that:- "This has to be one of the highlights for me of
the year. All these fantastic young ladies dancing non-stop. I do
not know where they get the energy from, but I am putting my name
down to do this again next year! This is fantastic fun for all ages,
as you can see from the faces of the children lining the streets,
through to the adults… If your readers did not manage to get to this
parade, tell them to put it in their lists to do next year!"
Let's hope that Liverpool makes it an annual party - perhaps with a
slight change of route, as some of the floats couldn't get through
some of the narrow streets down which the parade had been routed, as
some spectators may have missed the full experience…
If you want to find out who took part, click here to see our preview
report which we ran last week. Also visit
carnival.org.uk for more
information!
Well done to all who
took part and also to the Police, St John Ambulance and the Stewards
from Paramount Security.
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