PREPARATIONS FOR 4TH EDITION OF THE CARNAVAL DE CARNIVALS IN HIGH GEAR
(Posted 15th February 2014)
With just over two months to go, until the world of Carnivals will for the 4th time focus on the Carnaval de Carnivals, the Carnival International de Victoria, preparations are now in high gear according to information received overnight from the Seychelles.
The three day festival, an official ‘Vanilla Islands Organization’ event, will be co-hosted by Reunion and KwaZulu Natal / South Africa which have come on board to ride on the high waves of global publicity the Seychelles have received after creating their own Creole version of a carnival which brings participants from around the world to Victoria.
The latest information confirms that there will be three MC’s on stage, Michelle Marengo, one of the Seychelles foremost singers, besides having made a career in the tourism administration of the country, as well as one from KwaZulu Natal and from Reunion. This is thought to underscore the broadness of the event and will give co-hosts ‘equal opportunities’ to address the crowds in Creole, English and French.
The Seychelles Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St. Ange, commented yesterday on the status of preparations and in particular the languages to be used throughout the festival when he said: ‘We are a multiethnic country with three official languages. We need to ensure this is reflected in our national events. The different delegations also flying to Seychelles will all benefit from the approach of having our official Opening Ceremony managed in the three languages, Creole, English and French. Every country participates at tourism trade fairs as a PR exercise and to try to raise the visibility of their destination. The carnival in Seychelles offers to participating tourism destinations exactly this opportunity and even more. The large bank of International [media] present to cover the unique carnival of carnivals event can be approached to report on the destination through their culture and better still through the people of the different countries. Distributing colorful brochures is one thing, but putting feeling in marketing of the destination by showcasing the people and culture of the country goes much further than any cocktail or brochure handout events’.
Main event airline this year is Air Seychelles / Etihad for the first time, now that the national airline of the Seychelles has transformed itself over the past two years into a formidable carrier once again, giving delegations arriving from abroad and flying in on joint Etihad / Air Seychelles services already a feeling of what to expect when on the archipelago proper. Expect once again live reporting from the Seychelles and impressions not just from the carnival festival but news updates about new hotels, resorts, heritage, marine and terrestrial national park conservation work and life in general across the archipelago.
For more information about the Seychelles and their annual calendar of events visit www.seychelles.travel
