ONE of the biggest events in the Oxford calender has been cancelled.

Now that Covid restrictions have ended across England, it could have been the first time in years that the Cowley Road Carnival was to go ahead in person.

However, the charity behind the enormous plans are taking a break to 'consider the future'.

Cancelling the event yesterday afternoon, acting chair of the Board of Trustees for CRW Cathy King said: "Carnival started as a regeneration project for East Oxford and has succeeded amazingly in bringing our diverse communities together through celebration of this diversity for 20 years.

"We feel that the time is right to take time this year to reflect on past successes and our vision for Carnival. We will be taking the next few months to consider the future.”  

The charity later said it was working with "a more challenging funding environment" and rather than delivering a carnival would focus on coaching local communities to deliver their own events and celebrations.

The carnival usually takes place at the beginning of July with around 50,000 people cramming into the streets of Oxford to be dazzled with live music, DJs, performances, spoken word and dance.

Cowley Road Works (CRW) has put together Oxford's biggest public event for more than 20 years, including the last two years of virtual and micro-carnival events during the pandemic.

In 2020, when the country was put into lockdown, the carnival became 'virtual'. People who live in Cowley were also asked to make 'window lanterns' to light up the street.

In 2021, Cowley Road Carnival's 20th year, the event was replaced with smaller street parties and another virtual event.

At the time, organisers hailed the success of the event.

Speaking in 2021, carnival director Sean Duvall said: "After a challenging build up, we are delighted with the impact and positivity that was felt around the city.

"We will be back in 2022 stronger than ever. Planning starts soon."

In January this year, the future of the carnival was thrown into uncertainty with the charity posting an advert on Facebook saying it was looking for new trustees and a chair of the board to 'lead the carnival into a new era'.

But in April, Oxford Business Park confirmed that it had agreed to sponsor the event again.

Bosses wrote on Twitter: "We are proud to be sponsoring this fantastic local event again this year."

It was understood to have been planned for July 3.

The procession usually starts on Cowley Road and goes through the streets of Oxford. Every year there is a theme and a series of events in the months before the carnival day itself to help raise funds and involve different people in different ways.

In a statement, the charity said: "Following the last two years and the recent changing leadership within the organisation, we are at a point of transition. 

"CRW needs to deliver within a model that is more sustainable and secure for our future, and we are looking at our funding and fundraising strategy over the next five years and taking the opportunity to rethink the leadership of the organisation.

"We also wish to review why we exist, and who we exist for, to ensure we have a sharp focus on working with targeted groups within the context of shifting demographics in Oxford City."

It added: "It cannot be denied that we are also working with a more challenging funding environment. 

"This might mean doing things differently in future but we will undergo this review with the needs of our community at the centre.

"In particular, rather than deliver a Carnival that people just attend, success for the charity would be to empower and upskill the communities we work in to organise and lead their own experiences.

"We believe that community driven in-person events and celebrations will be crucial for community recovery and cohesion post the Covid 19 pandemic, and isolation it has caused.

"This necessarily takes time and means not delivering Carnival in 2022. It would be a disservice to our past successes not take the time to do this properly."