This week pre-Lenten Carnivals came to a colourful climax in several countries in the Greater Caribbean; perhaps none more spectacularly so than in Trinidad and Tobago, host country of the Secretariat of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS). In other parts of the region Carnival is celebrated around Easter time, or in July/August to coincide with traditional Cropover or Emancipation celebrations. Most Caribbean countries observe the festival in one form or another.

In fact Carnival is one of the defining features of the Caribbean cultural landscape. It plays a significant role in the economy in several countries. Some believe that more could be done to realise its cultural and economic potential.

Scholars have researched the historical origins of carnival in post Emancipation Caribbean societies, pointing to its role as a vehicle for the celebration of freedom, social protest and cultural self-assertion. They argue that contemporary Carnivals serve varied social functions besides those associated with bacchanalian revelry. With national independence Carnivals in the anglophone Caribbean gained political legitimacy and social acceptance. Carnival is now promoted as a socially integrative force, an outlet for cultural and artistic expression and a tourist attraction. In short, Carnival has become a cultural industry. 

But each Caribbean community celebrates Carnival in a different way. We need more interaction among scholars and cultural workers across language barriers to document the richness and diversity of Caribbean Carnival and to understand its role in different socio-cultural contexts. Because it is a widely shared popular experience, Carnival offers a readily accessible route to mutual understanding and cultural exchange among Caribbean peoples.  And it could be a key element in regional cultural tourism in light of the Convention on the Sustainable Tourism Zone of the Caribbean signed at the 3^rd ACS Summit last December.

The UWI’s Dr. Keith Nurse, a noted researcher on the economics of Carnival, has shown its potential as a cultural export. Trinidad and Tobago’s Carnival generates close to 40,000 visitors and US$15 million in foreign currency earnings. Government expenditure on Carnival yields a ratio of benefits to cost of 7 to 1. Similar benefit/cost ratios have been found for other music festivals in the region.

Trinidad Carnival is now world famous and has spawned some 50 overseas Carnivals in other parts of the Caribbean and in metropolitan centres where the Caribbean Diaspora has a presence. London’s Notting Hill Carnival generates 2 million visitors and UK£30 million expenditure; Toronto’s Caribana 1 million visitors and Can.$200 million; Brooklyn’s Labor Day 2 million participants and US$70 million.

So Carnival is where culture and economics meet. It needs greater regional recognition as one of the prized cultural assets of Caribbean people, having been imbued with unique characteristics of our own creation. Perhaps it is time for a multi-lingual, pan- Caribbean conference on realising its cultural and economic potential. Carnival practitioners, academic researchers and government policy makers all have a role to play. 

Professor Norman Girvan is Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States. The views expressed are not necessarily the official views of the ACS. Feedback can be sent to mail@acs-aec.org.

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February 12, 2002