The organizers of the Bridgwater Carnival will be hosting a virtual alternative to the annual event tonight (Saturday 7 November)
The ‘best of the best’ live broadcast will start at 6 p.m. – the exact time the event would have taken place had the coronavirus not forced it to be canceled
Instead of watching from the street, viewers can watch the special two-hour virtual carnival from the comfort of their homes on TVs, laptops, phones and devices
The live broadcast will celebrate the best entries of all time to have taken part in the Bridgwater Carnival between 1982 and 2019 – the years the Carnival was officially filmed
Advertising director Dave Stokes said: ‘Safety is always our number one priority, and due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, a carnival lighted up in the style we have been accustomed to Bridgwater was not possible this year
â ???? So, as a committee, we looked at the things we could do safely in order to continue the long-standing carnival tradition in Bridgwater in a very low-key and symbolic way. And that’s when we got the idea of a « best of the best » virtual carnivalâ ????
As with previous live broadcasts of the event, carnival organizers hope to raise money for the Bridgwater Carnival charity by asking viewers to donate when the ‘best of the best’ the virtual carnival is broadcast on carnival night
Donating is very easy and can be done in two ways – by clicking on « donate » button that appears when viewers log in to watch the live stream, or by sending the word BGFC to 70085 followed by one of the specified amounts  £ 1,  £ 2,  £ 3,  £ 4,  £ 5, £ 10 or £ 20
Immediately after the virtual carnival ends, carnival-goers will be able to vote for their favorite entry from the 88 featured in the two-hour extravaganza Voting is extremely easy and votes can be placed through a special free app produced by SGS UK Customs Services (Shepton Mallet) called « CarniApp », which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play
Each person will have only one vote to vote and will only be able to vote once from their mobile device The voting window closes at 10 p.m. on Monday November 30 and soon after, the best entry to the Bridgwater carnival will be revealed
Arts Council England, the government-funded body responsible for distributing government and national lottery money for the development of the arts in England,
has been a major sponsor of the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival in recent years Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, ACE had supported and awarded grants to Bridgwater Carnival for the past eight consecutive years
B -Bridgwater: home of carnival It now has the reputation of being one of the largest illuminated processions in the world
C-Cards Carnival floats in Bridgwater were originally built on hay wagons or log wagons named â € “ cartâ ???? is blocked!
D -DVDs go DigitalBridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee has launched a new digital online service where carnival enthusiasts can rent, buy and watch the official Bridgwater Carnival processions of yesteryear Using Vimeo, a video streaming service online, past carnival processions can be viewed and downloaded for a small fee on any viewing device that can access the Internet (PC, mobile phone, iPad, TV, etc.) Carnival processions from 1982 to 2019 are now available
Economy The local economy benefits greatly from the activities of the Bridgwater Carnival, and many local restaurants, pubs and shops bring in record revenue on the day the carnival hits town Various research projects and studies have concluded that the Carnival in Bridgwater is worth around £ 4million per year to the local economy – £ 2million over the carnival weekend and an additional £ 2million from carnival-related activities throughout the year
G -Gangs and FeaturesBridgwater Gangs and Features is an organization for the city’s carnival clubs and is separate from the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee Full member clubs include: British Flag CC, Cavaliers CC, Centurion CC , Crusaders CC, Gremlins CC, Griffens CC, Lime Kiln CC, Marketeers CC, Ramblers CC, Renegades CC, Vagabonds CC, Wills CC and YMCA CC Associate members are: Marina Sydenham Juvenile CC, Newmarket CC, Pentathlon CC, Toppers CC and Wilfs CC
H -Hardy Spicer Championship Presented annually at the local Bridgwater Carnival Club with the highest number of points in the carnival procession and concert It was first presented in 1952 as the Hardy Spicer Challenge Cup The 2019 winners were Gremlins CC with Curse of the Kraken
I -Information Bridgwater Carnival’s continued popularity in recent times is partly due to its strong social media presence and the role it plays in providing up-to-date information to its many supporters Bridgwater Carnival’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts have over 5,200 followers and over 12,900 likes, respectively
J – Juvenile Carnival Clubs Juvenile carnival clubs contain the carnivalites of the future, and Bridgwater’s only juvenile carnival club is Marina Sydenham JCC Last year the popular club dominated the Carnival Association circuit. Guy Fawkes of Somerset County by winning all seven county carnivals with their Sea Warriors entry
K -King James I The origins of our annual carnival in Bridgwater can be traced back to the gunpowder plot of 1605 when Guy Fawkes and his fellow conspirators failed in their attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament This story is well known to all, but what is not so widely recognized is that it was King James I and his parliament who decreed that the events of November 5 should be commemorated annually with the lighting bonfires, a tradition that is celebrated across the nation to this day
L -Lights In 1903 the first light bulb was used on an entrance in the Bridgwater Carnival procession Now the majority of mounted entrances have moved away from traditional light bulbs and use environmentally friendly LEDs (diode electroluminescent) to illuminate their spectacular entrances
Between 1982 and 2019 £ 835,396 was raised at the Bridgwater Carnival and shared between the official Bridgwater Carnival charity and its chosen charities
N -NovemberBridgwater Carnival takes place every year on the first Saturday in November The 2021 procession will take place on Saturday 6 November 2021
O -OrganisationAfter years of informal annual celebrations, the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee was formed in 1881 with just 15 people, and held the first ‘official’ carnival Monday, November 7 Today, the committee has more than 80 members
P -People It is estimated that over 2,000 people, also known as carnival-goers, participate in the organization and staging of the Bridgwater Carnival each year, all of whom generously donate their time for free
Q -QueenThe Queen and Prince Philip received a video of the 1986 carnival by then-carnival chairman Bill Holland after the royal couple visited Bridgwater in 1987
R -Route The route taken by the carnival procession is just over 17 miles long and it takes two hours to pass a viewpoint
S -Squibs Giant fireworks originally made in townhouses, but now produced under a secret formula by major fireworks makers, especially for the Bridgwater Carnival Due to their size, the squibs are attached to poles (coshes) and, once lit, are held above the squibbers’ heads until the fireworks are extinguished Nowadays, a simultaneous squib show takes place on the main street of the city immediately after the parade when more than 170 squibs are lit at the same time creating a wonderful and unique spectacle. The earliest recorded evidence of squibbing in Bridgwater dates back to 1716
T -Table Entries where the cast members stand or pose completely still, creating an image that represents the chosen theme
The new Bridgwater Link Road was officially unveiled in December 2019 with a spectacular squibbing performance Representatives from Somerset County Council, main contractor Whitemountain, Bridgwater Carnival and other guests were in attendance as public named « Squibbers Way » has been officially opened A squibbing team led by carnivalites from Bridgwater took up position on the new Crossways Bridge and lit the sky with a sparkling 90 second fireworks display The Guy Fawkes wagon then became the first vehicle to travel the length of the new road to travel
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival will host its very first ‘virtual carnival’ this year It will air on Saturday, November 7, 2020 at 6 p.m., exact date and time of the start of the Bridgwater Carnival illuminated procession This special two-hour virtual carnival will feature a collection of 88 clips featuring the all-time best entries to participate in the Bridgwater Carnival over the past 38 years, chosen by the carnivalites themselves To watch the virtual carnival at night, visit
Following the live broadcast of the « best of the best » virtual carnival movie on Saturday, November 7, carnival fans will be able to vote for their favorite entry among the 88 featured in the two-hour extravaganza The vote will be extremely easy and can be done through a special free application called « CarniApp » produced by SGS UK â ???? Personalized services (Shepton Mallet), which can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Each person will have only one vote to vote and can vote only once from their mobile device The voting window closes at 10 p.m. on November 30, 2020, and shortly thereafter it will be revealed who has won the award for being the best at each entry to the Bridgwater Carnival
In 1976, the CC Marketeers were one of the first carnival clubs in Somerset to ask Xanadu to represent Bridgwater Carnival at the following year’s Easter Parade at Battersea Park in London
Y-Yankee Doodle DandeeCrown Inn The 1948 entry of CC’s Yankee Doodle Dandee was significant in the history of the Bridgwater Carnival as it was the last competition to use horses to pull a cart in the Les Procession. two used county horses were almost entirely covered in flowers and were lit by electric lights
Z -Zoom During the coronavirus pandemic and associated social distancing restrictions, many carnival clubs have adopted the use of Zoom and other video, voice and virtual conferencing facilities
Guy Fawkes Bridgwater Carnival, Bridgwater, Shepton Mallet
News from around the world – UK – Bridgwater Carnival takes place practically tonight
