Chinedu Eze
Calabar Carnival has become the pivot of tourism development in Nigeria, given its antecedents in recent times.
It is a tourism event that has been recognised globally as emanating from Nigeria.
It is also number one carnival in Africa, followed by Cape Town carnival, Harare International Carnival, Quelimen Carnival in Mozambique, Goree Island Festival and, of course, Fanti Carnival in Nigeria; a century-old, Afro-Brazilian street carnival revived recently by the state government after a long hiatus.
The Calabar Carnival has confirmed that carnivals drive tourism development by boosting local economies, generating jobs, ad preserving cultural heritage. In those early days when the carnival started in 2004, many saw it as upstart enterprise that would fade as government programmes are known to disappear over time in Nigeria.
But two factors nullified this assumption. One, Donald Duke, the then governor of Cross River state established it very firmly and other governors embraced it because of its uniqueness and the recognition it gave the state and two, it also succeeded because Calabar has unique, cosmopolitan tradition. It dovetailed with the character of the city and the disposition of the people.
There are other key issues about the Calabar Festival. It created jobs for youngsters who look forward to it towards the end of the year and it unearthed hidden talent, which many of the participants never envisioned.
One fact may not have been given a thought. The impression of Africa changed in the Caribbean when their people started attending Calabar Festival.
This is why the unveiling of the 2026 Carnival Calabar at the Eko Hotel and Suits in Lagos attracted massive turnout made up of tour operators, travel agents, journalists, ambassadors and renowned tourism stakeholders and government officials.
With the theme: ‘Rethinking Our Collective Destiny’, the unveiling event was a success which confirmed the importance of the festival and also the dexterity of the organisers who year after year ensured a more successful outing.
The Carnival has attracted many business organisations that sponsor different events during the festival, from banks, manufacturers and service providers. It is a major tourism event that has attracted the international community, as ambassadors representing different countries have keyed into it and use it to showcase what Nigeria can offer to the world in the area of culture and tourism.
During the unveiling in Lagos, the Governor of Cross River State, Senator, Bassey Out, assured sponsors of the 2026 Carnival Calabar and Festival that there would be return on their investments, which would be richer, noting that the event would provide wider visibility of their products.
The governor therefore solicited for the continuous support of both existing and potential sponsors, urging them not to relent in their efforts as the state strives to maintain its enviable position in the national and international tourism landscape, adding that Cross River State is the proud organisers of the “Africa’s Biggest Street Party”, the Carnival Calabar.
The governor said in order to have a robust outing in this year’s Carnival Calabar and Festivals, the state would be galvanising the efforts of Cross Riverains in the Diaspora in terms of participation; propagation of the Carnival brand abroad as well as securing material support.
He also disclosed that a framework for the streaming of the carnival and the monetisation of its contents have also been worked out.
“In order to remain competitive in the tourism ecosystem, the Creative Economy of Cross River State is currently undergoing a comprehensive overhaul, by creating more tourism assets which in turn will facilitate employment opportunities and generate revenue. These will immensely have a pull on repeat and new tourists to the state,” the governor said.
Otu also noted that the unveiling of the theme: ‘Rethinking Our Collective Destiny’, is the beginning of the 2026 Carnival Calabar activities.
Also, the President, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) Dr. Badaki Aliyu, in his speech at the event said that tourism stakeholders would support the 2026 Carnival Calabar to make it a huge success.
Aliyu promised that the 2026 Carnival Calabar Festival woulld be greater than the 2025 edition with the full participation of the tourism body with its member associations.
He commended Otu for bringing the past governors during last year lighting of the Christmas Tree in Calabar and commended the Chairman Carnival Calabar Commission, Sir Gabe Onah, for organising a very wonderful event last year.
Speaking at the event, the International Consultant of the Carnival Calabar Festival, Ambassador Ikechi Uko, identified the uniqueness of Calabar Festival, its conception as a child of a visionary leader. He said that the establishment of the festival was intentional and not out of spontaneous emergence from a fleeting dream and this explains why it has become a very strong brand in Nigerian tourism sector.
According to him, as Detty December is growing into a pattern, Cross River State has been there from the beginning and Calabar Festival is a harbinger of the Detty December, which has now become a rave of the moment.
Uko therefore urged the tour operators and travel agencies to package tours revolving around the festival and sell to the world.
He emphasised that since Nigeria now has a world class tourism product in the carnival, the tour operators are expected to double the numbers of tourists coming into the country and commended the Carnival Calabar Commission for giving Nigeria a product to present to the world.
“I have been around quite a lot of places, and I have seen how tourism is done. In Nigeria in the past 24 months, there is this rave about Detty December. Without planning it, we now have a tourism season that occurred by happenstance for Lagos and other places. But Cross River State has been intentional from the beginning. They gave birth to Detty December.
And if you notice in the last two years, every picture of Detty December in all global media, The Guardian, BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, they use visuals of Calabar Carnival. It is not by accident. So, when the Minister of Tourism in 2004 tried to create what we call the Harmattan Season for Tourism, Cross River took the initiative and initiated Carnival Calabar and the governors since then have helped Nigeria and Africa create a powerful tourism brand,” Uko said.
In his welcome address earlier, the Chairman Carnival Calabar Commission, Gabe Onah, stated that Carnival Calabar has been rated as one of the best internationally.
Onah said the commission has introduced the innovative online voting for people to make their choices, stressing that online vetting of the videos is also on the pipeline.
The event featured presentation of plaques to winning local governments, states that performed exceptionally and performing bands at 2025 event with Calavegas Band sweeping most of the award for the night, as part of as build up to the carnival.
The former Minister of Culture and Tourism, High Chief Edem Duke and Leader of the Calavegas Band, presented the awards and other items it won and received from India for the band’s participation based on invitation in a tourism event in India.
The event attracted top officials from the Cross River State Government, including the governor who unveiled the carnival theme; the Deputy Governor; Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly and other top state officials and stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry among others.
The event further underscored the fact that the Cross River State Government sees Carnival Calabar as major project and a great brand ambassador of Nigeria.