ORGANISERS have announced that a full-scale St Paul’s Carnival will not take place this year.
They said the “extremely difficult’ decision to cancel the event planned for July 4 had been taken because it was not possible “to safely and sustainably deliver Carnival at the scale and size the public, participants and the wider community have come to expect”.
St Pauls Carnival CIC said it would continue its programme of cultural and community events throughout this year while looking at ways to deliver a “community rooted” event next year and considering plans for Carnival’s sixtieth anniversary in 2028.
It said it “remains committed to celebrating African Caribbean culture, creativity and community in Bristol.
“While 2026 will take a different shape, SPC believes this transition provides an important opportunity to strengthen the organisation, deepen community involvement, and help ensure that Carnival can return in future years in a way that is safe, sustainable, and worthy of its legacy.”
It has become increasingly difficult to stage the full carnival days including a procession, The last full-scale event was in 2023 and drew a crowd of 120,000. Scaled-back events were held in 2022, 2024 and 2025. Carnival did not take place in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020 or 2021 either.
St Pauls Carnival CIC said: “It is clear that a full-scale Carnival, including the procession, cannot be delivered this year without exposing the organisation to an unacceptable level of operational and financial risk.”
Its full statement said: “This has been an incredibly difficult decision and one that we know will be disappointing for the community and the wider public. St Pauls Carnival is a unique and deeply valued celebration of African Caribbean culture, heritage and community, and we fully recognise the disappointment many people will feel.
“Over the past year, we have worked closely with the community, our partners and operational teams to explore how the full Carnival could return in a way that reflects both the cultural significance of the event and the operational realities involved in delivering a free-to-attend public street event which attracts 150,000 people.
“Despite considerable work to reduce costs and reshape the model, as a board we have ultimately reached the conclusion that delivering a full-scale Carnival in 2026 is not viable.
“Our responsibility must always be to protect the safety of the public, volunteers, artists, traders, staff and everyone involved in bringing Carnival to life. Delivering an event which has grown to this scale in recent years requires substantial infrastructure, safety management, staffing and financial resources.
“Like many cultural and live events organisations across the UK, we face increasing financial pressure on infrastructure, staffing, safety, security, compliance and delivery costs.
“Despite extensive fundraising activity and ongoing partner support, the gap between available resources and the costs required to deliver Carnival safely and responsibly remained too significant for 2026.
“While a full-scale Carnival will not take place this summer, our work to celebrate, protect and invest in Carnival’s cultural legacy absolutely continues.
“This is not the end of Carnival. It is a necessary reset to help ensure its long-term future.”