What happens to communities when Carnival disappears?
Carnival as a tool for social inclusion
Carnival is not just one of the biggest parties in the world, but also an important tool for social inclusion. Celebrating Carnival together allows communities to define their identities, to reaffirm their connection to place and to each other.
Greg Richards is Professor of Placemaking and Events at Breda University of Applied Sciences. Lénia Marques is Assistant Professor Cultural Organizations and Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
Absence of carnival
During Covid, celebrating Carnival became a major challenge. In 2020, Carnival was revealed as a major source of Covid infections in the Netherlands, and Dutch Carnival celebrations were cancelled or curtailed in 2021. The absence of Carnival was a major blow for many places – not just culturally, but also economically. It was a relief to see restrictions eased in early 2022, allowing public Carnival celebrations to return, albeit in a modified form. BUas and partners in other countries have been conducting research on Carnival (Richards, 2020), comparing the experience of Carnival in different places, and analysing the meaning of Carnival in contemporary society. Covid-19 provided a new research question: what happens to communities when Carnival disappears?
Outcomes survey
Surveys between 2020 and 2022 clearly show Covid-19 impacts. Most notably, the restrictions in 2021 forced Dutch Carnival off the streets. Almost 42% of respondents did not celebrate Carnival in 2021, compared with only 7% in 2020. For those celebrating in 2021, this was mainly online (42%) or at home (39%). In March 2022, with restrictions eased in the Netherlands, Carnival returned to the public realm. Around 65% of participants celebrated in the street or in the café, compared with only 8% in 2021.
Clearly, the sweeping changes made in the organization of Carnival during Covid had a profound effect on the experience of the event. Particularly in 2021, participants missed celebrating together. In 2021 over 19% said they missed other people, followed by the atmosphere created by the crowds (18%), and the general Carnival feeling (16%).
Creative solutions
How did people cope with the absence of Carnival? Particularly in 2021 the celebrations moved indoors. Many tried to recreate the Carnival atmosphere at home, for example by putting up Carnival decorations, playing Carnival music or putting on a costume.
There were also creative solutions to the absence of public events in 2021. For example, the TV channel Omroep Tilburg broadcast ’t opstoetje: a miniature Carnival procession recreated using playmobile figures. This recreated the ‘Opstoet’ Carnival procession, including the transfer of the city keys to the Carnival Prince. The different Carnival Associations created their own miniature Carnival floats, some of which reflected the theme of Covid.
People missed the link with other people, and celebrating together.
Celebrate together
Despite the creativity that was evident in 2021, people still missed the ‘real’ Carnival, and being together, as one respondent described: "Carnival is not celebrated alone, at home, behind a screen. Carnival you celebrate together, in busy places, meet new people, find old friends.” 2022 saw a partial return to normality, as cafes opened their doors and public events were held. Many felt 2022 was extra enjoyable, ‘because we can celebrate again’. In some places it was even busier than usual, because people were especially keen to be together after two years of Covid restrictions.
Our research indicates that Carnival continues to be important for people, and that when the event disappeared from the streets in 2021, communities missed an important opportunity for social interaction. What people missed most was not the opportunity to party, but the feeling of being together and re-asserting community.
References
- Omroep Brabant (2022) Tilburgers massaal naar D'n Opstoet maar volgend jaar wel weer in de winter. https://www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/4062728/tilburgers-massaal-naar-dn-opstoet-maar-volgend-jaar-wel-weer-in-de-winter
- Richards, G. (2020). Measuring the dimensions of event experiences: Applying the Event Experience Scale to cultural events. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 12(3), 422-436.
