Two new carnival bands will be competing at the 2022 Carnival Calabar, in line with the desire of the Cross River State government to deliver a world class event that will make up for the two years Covid-19 related suspension of the carnival, www.calitown.com can reveal.
Eric Anderson, CRS Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, who made this exclusive disclosure to www.calitown.com, named Diamond and Calas Vegas bands as the two new bands who will be joining Seagull, Passion 4, Masta Blasta, Bayside, and Freedom bands, bringing the number of competing bands to seven.
Anderson also added that the new bands will further accommodate a large number of persons, itching to belong to one band or the other. “We have discovered that in times past, we have had between five to ten non-competing bands, performing but not to the competing level that excites our very large audience. So, if we have more competing bands, we will be stretching excitement levels and delivering world class entertainment to audiences that have missed this showpiece for two years now”, he explained.
On the 2022 Calabar Carnival theme, “Agro-Industrialization”, the Commissioner assured that “a lot of work will go into articulately interpreting this theme at respective band levels and it is something we are taking seriously and believe that at the end of the day, entertainment served will be top draw, seriously we will up the ante.”
Recall that the CRS governor, Ben Ayade, while flagging off the first dry run for the 2022 Carnival Calabar, announced that the theme of this carnival was chosen with a view to sending a message that Africans can depend on themselves for food.
