Scenes from last year's carnival As the Cowley Road Carnival draws closer, organisers are working hard to ensure the event goes off with a bang.

With just over a week until the event on Sunday, June 12, final preparations are being made.

Last year, the carnival's lively blend of music, dance and food attracted about 16,000 people, all eager to catch a glimpse of the colourful festival procession.

With this year's expected attendance figures nudging towards the 20,000 mark, carnival organisers are making every effort to ensure the event is a fun, but safe day.

A £10,000 donation from the Oxford, Swindon and Gloucester Co-op is helping to cover the cost of stewards, safety barriers and toilets for the all-day event.

Henrietta Gill, carnival organiser, said: "We expect to see thousands of people. However, they are often un- aware of the behind-the-scenes work which makes it a safe and family-friendly environment.

"We employ a team of professional, experienced staff and stewards to maintain the highest health and safety standards for the day.

"It is these, perhaps less glamorous essentials, that the Co-op funding will support."

This year, there will be about 90 staff involved in the carnival, some of whom will be on site for four days.

The event will run from 12 noon until 8pm with several post-carnival parties also planned.

The road was closed to traffic for the first time last year to accommodate the ever-growing number of visitors and it will be closed again this year from 8am until 10pm with diversions in place via Iffley Road.

The theme for this year's carnival is Earth and there will be 12 entertainment sites dotted along the route.

The carnival was launched in 2001 and rapidly grew to become the biggest multi-cultural community event in Oxfordshire. The event is managed by East Oxford Action.