Lucian Carnival is On!

The Government of Saint Lucia through the Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information, has confirmed that Saint Lucia’s Carnival, ‘Lucian Carnival’ will take place from the 7th of July to the 19th of July 2022 with the parade of the bands set for July 18th & 19th.

To get the carnival festivities going and bringing stakeholders together, the Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information in collaboration with Events Company of Saint Lucia Inc., Cultural Development Foundation and Saint Lucia Tourism Authority will be hosting a media launch for ‘Lucian Carnival 2022’ on Tuesday 29th March, 2022.

The aim of the launch is to communicate with all stakeholders of carnival that Saint Lucia Carnival 2022 has the green light. The full calendar of events for the season will be released at the launch. It must be noted that the only events on the calendar are events that happened during Saint Lucia Carnival 2019 as a means of protecting our local promoters and ensuring the benefit from this as that sector has been on a 2-year hiatus.

In light of the covid-19 pandemic and restrictions on mass crowd gatherings, the launch of carnival was not able to be held in its traditional form which is a full concert style open to the general public. However, in keeping with the true spirit of ‘Lucian Carnival’, the media launch will be streamed live on official government social media platforms and on national TV.

Minister of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information indicated that he is happy to see the plans for Saint Lucia Carnival 2022 evolving and progressing in its current form. Minister Hilaire stated, “As a carnival enthusiast myself, it brings me great excitement to see Saint Lucia Carnival back on the calendar for 2022. It is our biggest expression of creativeness and culture.” He further went to say, “Carnival is also one of the biggest economic drivers for Saint Lucia and also the period where you see the highest number of arrivals into our sweet Helen of the West.”

Although, ‘Lucian Carnival 2022’ may not take place in its traditional ‘bacchanal and revelry’, it is critical that the crucial aspects of the carnival are protected, namely the national events such as Panorama, Calypso Tents and Monarch, Soca Monarch, King & Queen of the Bands and National Queen Show. These national events must also co-exist with the private parties which add a different element to our creative expression. It is also paramount that we protect the interests of all our local creatives, event promoters and bands to ensure they benefit the most from Saint Lucia Carnival 2022.