Carnival: preparations and the big day

New reportage. View in HD with the volume turned up!

In 2012 the Leeds West Indian Carnival celebrated its 45th year. The festival is one of the largest of its kind in the UK, second only to London's Notting Hill Carnival.

For a number of years I photographed the carnival and in 2010 we photographed the people behind the scenes. They put in a tremendous amount of hard work to make those fabulous costumes. This slide show follows the process through from the preparations to Carnival day itself.

Carnival founder, Arthur France, is enormously pleased with the on-going success of the event and says the Leeds carnival continues to improve year on year. "What distinguishes the local event", says Arthur, "is the fact that it remains traditional in terms of the costumes and music which are central to the spirit and character of the carnival."

My thanks to all involved in the Leeds Carnival and particularly those that organised access and the friendly people at the Leeds West Indian Centre.

Till soon,
Paul Indigo
www.indigo2photography.co.uk

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