Bath Carnival 2024: Important Update

Bath Carnival 2024 will take place on Saturday 13 July. However, Bath Carnival is deeply saddened to announce that this year their application to Arts Council England has been unsuccessful, this will result in major changes to the affiliated outreach programme planned for May-July.

In recent years Arts Council England Lottery Funding has played an essential role in a funding model that’s enabled Bath Carnival to deliver its annual carnival arts outreach programme and a large-scale summer event.

Since receiving this disappointing news, the team have worked round the clock to restructure the budget and secure emergency investment for this year. Thanks to the increased support of donors and sponsors the full-scale Bath Carnival event will still take place on Saturday 13 July, 2024.

However, to ensure the future of this culturally important event, a series of difficult decisions have been made which affect both the short and long-term prospects for Bath Carnival as an organisation, and the important work its team of artists does in the community throughout the year.

In short, the community organisation will need the support of the local community and its wider supporters now more than ever.

LOOKING BEYOND CARNIVAL DAY

Bath Carnival is so much more than a one-day event and sadly the outreach programme planned for May to July is no longer possible in its original format for 2024.

Bath Carnival Director, Stu Matson said: “We are devastated to see freelance artists losing job security, young artists losing access to their mentors, and many beneficiaries across B&NES no longer participating in workshops that mean so much to them.”

Over the past decade the popular arts outreach programme has established longlasting relationships with local schools, charities, and community groups, offering free access to arts activities, for both participants and spectators.

It has helped over 100 early career artists into paid employment in the local creative sector, and thousands more young people to explore their potential through music, dance, puppetry, costume-making, and theatre. 

Some of the most vulnerable members of the local community including low-income families and those with complex needs have developed skills over many years and built the confidence to showcase their talents.

Moving forward the organisers will be exploring new ways to fund this work on the same scale next year, with increased private donations becoming increasingly important.

A CHANGING LANDSCAPE

Stu Matson added: “Since we setup Bath Carnival in 2013 the funding landscape for arts projects across the country has changed significantly, with increasing numbers of applicants bidding for ever decreasing funds. We are now seeing the true impact of the pandemic and a cost-of-living crisis across the industry, with festivals closing, independent venues disappearing from our city centres and established arts organisations, collectives and freelance artists publishing their own emergency posts online on a near weekly basis”.

This year will now see a new business model in place, with the annual Bath Carnival event delivered as a self-sustaining enterprise; funded solely by donors, sponsorship, earned income and in-kind business support. This will allow the organisers to focus their reduced resources on securing future funding for the important community outreach that makes the carnival project so unique for Bath.

As part of this new approach this year the Main Stage will be sponsored by Bath West Community Energy, who said: “Bath and West Community Energy is thrilled to be sponsoring the Main Stage at Bath Carnival this year. The Carnival is such an important event in the city’s social calendar and we love that the whole day is free for all. We admire the Carnival ethos of environmental sustainability – something very close to our hearts.”

Stu Matson added: “We have been proud to serve our local communities and neighbourhoods in B&NES over the past decade. We will now need their support to continue doing so into the next one.”

• Donation link: https://localgiving.org/charity/bathcarnival
• Web: www.bathcarnival.co.uk
• Insta: @bathcarnival
• Email: [email protected]

A message from our main stage sponsors…

Bath West Community Energy is a successful community business set up by local people. Our practical climate action benefits organisations and communities in the Bath area through:

• Installing free solar panels on schools, businesses and community buildings to reduce energy bills and carbon emissions.
• Donating surplus income to our BWCE Fund which provides grants to community projects combating fuel poverty and improving sustainability.
• Supporting householders to reduce their carbon footprint by improving the energy efficiency of their homes.

We look forward to taking part in the Carnival festivities with you all.

Photo Credit: Casper Ferrall