Fundraising event to bring back carnival

The first in a series of events aiming to fundraise the return of a street carnival gets under way later.

Oxford's Cowley Road Carnival has only happened once since the Covid pandemic in 2024, with the previous organisers stepping down earlier this year.

Cowley Road Works, the registered charity that runs it, says its new committee is working towards a full carnival on 4 July 2027.

The fundraising drive starts with a ticketed mini-carnival style event at The Black Swan pub in Oxford. Proceeds go towards the £250,000 needed to put on the main carnival.

The original event, which fills the streets with music and dazzling costumes, began with the Caribbean Carnival in 1986.

However, it has faced several challenges over the past decade, including the pandemic and funding issues.

The event returned to Cowley Road in 2024 for the first time in five years, before being cancelled again last year.

The new chair, Rosie Jacobs, called the mini-carnival a "stepping stone" towards bringing back the main event.

She told the BBC: "This really is a bit of a celebration to mark the day, but also to kind of put our stall out and say that we're a new board of trustees, we're a new team, and we're really keen to make sure that we build a kind of sustainable future for the carnival so that we can make sure that it has the impact that it needs to have.

"At a time when there's so much hate and division across the nation, it feels more important than ever that we have events that celebrate all the amazing diversity that we have in the city, and just celebrate everything that unites us as human beings."

Acts performing include Simple and DJ G, Katalyst, and Count Skylarkin.

A further event is due to take place on 20 September. It will be a "celebration of carnival culture" centred around Manzil Way Garden on the Cowley Road.