Officially ranked among the UK’s largest Caribbean carnivals, Leicester Carnival attracted as many as 80,000 people during its peak years.
While it has never rivalled the scale of London‘s Notting Hill Carnival or Bristol’s St Paul’s Carnival, the annual event has been running since 1985, celebrating the history of Britain’s Caribbean community and richness of Caribbean culture.
Locals gathered at Victoria Park on Saturday, 1 August, to take part in and watch this year’s celebrations, with the theme being ‘Crowned by Culture – Caribbean Kings and Queens’.
Photos and videos shared by unofficial carnival pages and local news sites on social media showed crowds lining the parade route, soca and reggae booming from speakers and performers dressed in colourful, sequined costumes.
However, dozens of contrasting videos posted by locals painted a starkly different picture.
This year’s event was branded an ’embarrassment’ by some Leicester residents and online viewers of Afro-Caribbean and British Caribbean heritage, who criticised dancers’ ‘unseasoned’ choreography and what they described as a ‘tired’ and ‘bored’ atmosphere throughout the parade.
This year’s Leicester Carnival was branded an ’embarrassment’ by some Leicester residents and online viewers of Afro-Caribbean and British Caribbean heritage, who called performers ‘unseasoned’ and having a lack of cultural representation
Some also accused the event of appropriating Black Caribbean culture, criticising dancers’ ‘unseasoned’ choreography and what they described as a ‘tired’ and ‘bored’ atmosphere throughout the parade.
Leicester is one of the UK’s most diverse cities, with people from ethnic minority backgrounds making up more than half of its population.
Around 8 per cent of residents identify as Black or Black British, while approximately 0.7 per cent identify as Mixed White and Black African or Caribbean.
The largest minority group is Asian or Asian British, accounting for roughly 20 to 30 per cent of the population, while white residents make up just over 40 per cent.
Videos shared by TikTok users @whathappensafter35, @carnivalbites and @la.lewis44, as well as Instagram user @carnivalbite, showed what some viewers described as ‘depressing’ scenes, with dancers trudging along the streets and making little attempt to perform along the route.
One video showed a group of performers wearing black leotards with blue feathered accessories dancing out of sync to calypso music while waving blue and black scarves.
The clip was captioned: ‘Black people are just pure energy because what the f*** is this.’
Another video showed a sparsely populated stretch of the parade route, where groups of child and adult performers walked along with little visible enthusiasm, while one participant attempted hype the small crowd by singing into a microphone.
One video shows a sparsely populated stretch of the parade route, where groups of performers walked along with little visible enthusiasm
A third video captures a similar setup, though the performers dance with more energy before a mostly motionless crowd.
Londoner @whathappensafter35, who appeared to be of Afro-Caribbean heritage, took to Instagram to share his thoughts on this year’s festivities in a video.
He said: Leicester Carnival has some explaining to do. How do you put on such a bad display? I’ve never seen kneecaps move like this – I’ve never seen ankles look that stiff. I’ve never seen people wave out of rhythm – how do you wave out of rhythm?!’
‘The whole unseasoned fiasco was diabolical… there needs to be an enquiry.’
The carnival further divided observers, as many felt organisers ‘didn’t make any effort at all’, as others joked it ‘could have been an email’.
Some noted that the footage shared by the festival suggested sparsely attended ‘sad’ scenes, with attendees ‘looking like they have been forced to do it’.
Many compared it to London’s famous Notting Hill Carnival, with revellers heading to the capital’s celebrations later this month saying: ‘We’ll show you how it’s done.’
Much of the criticism was also directed at what was perceived to be a lack of Afro-Caribbean people in attendance.
Pictured: Another view of the performers along the parade
‘Leicester Carnival looked disgraceful, and yes its a big disrespect to black people and Caribbean culture,’ one said.
‘This is what happens when you allow everyone to jump on the Caribbean bandwagon, you get unseasoned turtle bay vibes messing up our beautiful culture.’
However, some people defended the festivities, saying much of the clips shared showed dancers practicing before they set off, and that the moves in troupes are ‘quite hard’.
Others stressed that Carnival is about ’embracing inclusivity’ and welcomed Leicester’s organisers’ efforts.
Many also felt this spoke to a ‘larger conversation’ Carnival organisers need to have about rebranding the event to be multi-cultural and encompassing broader than the Afro-Caribbean community.
The Daily Mail has contacted the organisers of Leicester Carnival for comment.
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