NCC Highlights Strong Growth And Future of T&T’s Carnival

The heavy rains put a damper on the parade of pretty mas and traditional characters on Saturday afternoon when Carnival 2025 was launched at the Queen's Park Savannah. Chairman of the National Carnival Commission, Winston 'Gypsy' Peters, extended sympathy to those affected by flooding on Saturday. But he shared some good news, acknowledging that Trinidad and Tobago enjoyed a very robust, fruitful Carnival 2024. "Last Carnival Trinidad and Tobago earned just over US$93 million and that is confirmed by the Central Statistical Office so I can say to you that the upward trend that we are seeing in visitorship to our country for Carnival, I'm saying that the NCC intervention in Carnivals around the world during the year is reaping benefits." The NCC Chairman said whether by sea or by air, tens of thousands of non-nationals came to the home of Carnival in 2024. "Trinidad and Tobago is indeed the home of Carnival and this is where the mother of all Carnivals lives. Ladies and gentleman, apart from being an invaluable, cultural, and the biggest tourism product that we have in Trinidad and Tobago, Carnival, as you have heard and can see, is a major foreign exchange earner." The tagline from Mical Teja's Road March Winning song DNA - "No Place Like Home" became an anthem in 2024, and that's also the message the NCC is spreading for 2025. "When it comes to the greatest and real Carnival experience on earth, there is no place like Trinidad and Tobago and I would like you to help me say the order - there is no place like home!" According to the NCC Chairman, the Queen's Park Savannah, now dubbed 'Carnival City,' is being transformed into a true Home for Carnival Excellence. He highlighted that Phase one of the project - a permanent structure for the Grand Stand - has already been completed.