After a two-year hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Calabar Carnival is set to be staged December 2022.
The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Cross River State, Eric Anderson, who confirmed the development, gave reasons for the resumption of the festival during a press briefing.
He said, “Cross River is among the committee of carnival producers in the world. Carnivals were shut down worldwide in the last two years because of COVID-19.
“As we speak, carnivals worldwide have started production, and we can see that the Covid-19 protocols have been relaxed. As a member of the committee, we feel we should also resume as well. Tourism is one aspect of culture that has put Cross River on the World Tourism Map.”
A company, Okhma Global, was also appointed to lead marketing for the 2022 Calabar Carnival.
Speaking during the event, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Mary Ephraim- Egbas, while expressing delight at the vote of confidence the Carnival planning committee reposed on the company, said, “We are a team of agile and youthful people governed by five core values, resilience, excellence, innovative, global, and nurturing.
“We worked with the Carnival Calabar pre-covid, for four years prior to this year, so to be selected to lead marketing this year again goes to show there is something we’ve gotten right. We hope to build on that and exceed our expectations.”