Cardiff Bay exploded with colour, energy, and joyful celebration over the August bank holiday weekend with the return of the iconic Butetown Carnival. Boasting live music, workshops, costumes, food and a larger-than-life parade, the free event attracted people from across the city and beyond.
“I was there at the first ever Butetown Carnival held at Butetown Park fifty-six years ago,” says Keith Murrell, the Carnival’s lead organiser and Creative Director of Butetown Arts & Culture Association. “We used to call it the Butetown Mardi Gras back then, but it has always been a celebration of the Butetown community. It grew and grew over the years, until the mid-eighties, when it was probably bigger than any other cultural event in Wales at the time.”
Today the Carnival proudly takes place in front of the Senedd, home to the Welsh Parliament, and continues to thrive and grow, but never without a nod to its rich heritage and legacy.
“Some of the Carnival’s earliest traditions were brought to the area by Afro-Caribbean seamen, and they merged with some of our old Welsh traditions, such as the Mari Lwyd,” says Keith. “There was always a fairground that was parked up in Loudon Square too, and that would be open to local people during the Carnival.”
A ‘Then and Now’ Panel Discussion took place at this year’s Carnival: an opportunity to fondly remember Butetown Carnivals past and present, as well as its links with Welsh culture over its lifetime.
Since its inception in 1967, the Carnival has seen a hiatus or two, but thanks to Keith and a group of dedicated organisers it was relaunched in 2014, and has been an annual event ever since, growing in strength and support year-on-year. The 2023 Butetown Carnival was supported by the Arts Council of Wales, along with many other partners including the Senedd, the Welsh Government and the Wales Millennium Centre.
“I will always respect and acknowledge those who led the Carnival in the past,” says Keith, who curated a selection of images, videos, and costumes from the Butetown Carnival Archive that were exhibited at the Pierhead and Senedd ahead of this year’s event. “The pillars of the Butetown Community; people like Olwen Watkins and Vivienne ‘Chalkie’ White. They created a heritage and wealth that was there for us to claim and build on. We were able to stand on their shoulders.”
This year’s Carnival gave stage to home-grown talents such as 12-year-old Luchia, alongside incredible international acts such as the Akabu Queens, the world’s first all-female reggae band, and Horace Andy from Jamaica. The grand parade wowed with vibrant costumes, music, dancing and masks, and an array of community workshops and activities were hosted ahead of and during the Carnival.
“The Small World Theatre created an amazing phoenix sculpture,” says Keith, reflecting on the reach and variety of today’s Carnival. “Over the summer months anyone could go along to make their own feather that would then be added to the sculpture. So, it belongs to, and represents, the whole community if you like. There was also a Somali music workshop and a steelpan drum workshop too.”
Following two days of joy and celebration at Cardiff Bay, Keith reflects on the Carnival’s role, and what it hopes to achieve in the future.
“The Butetown Carnival is about celebrating and respecting the rich diversity of our communities and welcoming everyone to join us in doing so. Our strapline comes from a famous Bob Marley song, ‘Let’s get together and feel alright’ and that is really what we want to achieve. If we do that, we are breaking barriers.”
Lleucu Siencyn, Director of Arts Development at the Arts Council of Wales said:
“A carnival is such a feast for the senses; the music, the dancing, costumes, food and of course, the people. And Butetown Carnival is no exception. Year on year the carnival brings people together from all backgrounds and all walks of life, it creates a space for people to be together, to have fun together and to get to know one another. It is so important that we as the Arts Council of Wales support events like Butetown Carnival, an event that is a bright and beautiful thread in the rich tapestry of our country.”