500,000 participants are expected in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for the 2014 edition of the Port Harcourt
Carnival.
A statement from the organisers of the project otherwise called CARNIRIV indicated that Dede noted this
during an interaction with journalists in Port Harcourt.
The carnival will hold between December 14 and 20.
According to him, it is being planned to outstrip other carnivals both in scope and size with participants
and tourists drawn from Europe, Americas and the Caribbean joining their African counterparts for the one-
week fiesta.
“ Dede assured that security will be top on the agenda of the Rivers State Government while stressing that
the 2014 edition of Carniriv will go down in history as one of the best organised with new innovations such
as the introduction of the Miss Carniriv Beauty Pageant, deployment of the a state-of-the-art performance
stage; and increased exposure for local artists to perform on the same stage with international stars,” the
statement added.
He also identified value-added marketing opportunities that companies and corporate bodies could avail
themselves as participants in the carnival.
“We have opened up the carnival for commercial exploitation from interested corporate bodies by
packaging at least 12 signature carnival events into stand-alone brands for category sponsorships. Each
category sponsor is entitled to multiple levels of commercial and non-commercial exploitations such as
publicity, speaking opportunities, branding, the distribution of company literatures/souvenirs and other
levels of corporate canvassing,” he added.
The award-winning actor and Theatre Arts lecturer also said that a cocktail of incentives await carnival
lovers this year as the Governor of Rivers State, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, had insisted that the carnival is
deployed as an empowerment platform for local artists and micro, small and medium scale enterprises to
connect with their fan base and clients alike and improve their business fortunes ahead of the Christmas
and New Year seasons.
The Chairman of the Board of Rivers State Tourism Development Agency, RSTDA, Deacon Vincent Erinwo,
is also quoted as saying that the RSTDA would judiciously expend every fund released by the government
for the purpose of the carnival while reiterating that the carnival is a project that is dear to the heart of the
people of the state.
Some of the events of the carnival this year are the Kids Carnival, Praise Jam, Dance of Fireflies, Keera –
rhythm of the tribes; Egelege – champion of the sand arena and Hosh Jam.
Others are the International Aquatic Fiesta, Black African Musical Festival, Reggae 360, International
Heritage Parade, Garden City Free Style Parade and the World Peace Concert.
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