Joburg Carnival

The Joburg Carnival is an annual New Year's celebration in Newtown, Johannesburg.

It is occasionally also referred to as the Johannesburg Carnival

The event

Hosted by the City of Johannesburg's Arts, Culture and Heritage Services (ACHS) directorate[1] and The Carnival Consortium, the carnival was first celebrated in 2004 and was originally conceived to promote the transformation of inner scity spaces such as Hillbrow, Joubert Park, Newtown and others into crime and grime-free zones, where free and safe movement is encouraged, and to boost existing urban renewal programmes.

In form it is based to some extent on the Rio-carnival, and features people from community-based troupes and cultures are part of the creative display of costumes, floats, singing and dancing. The 11 metropolitan regions of the City will also participate in the design and production of the 2005 Carnival, each competing with its own sub-theme and identity, , with each competing with its own sub-theme and identity, represented by costumes, flags, floats, dances and songs. The carnival procession includes troupes from the 11 metropolitan regions of the City as well as non-South African cultural groups residing in the city, such as Zimbabweans, Zambians, Ethiopians and Chinese, in their countries' traditional attire.

Over the years a number of business entities have become involved, including City Power, Joburg Water and Pikitup. The South African Police Services (SAPS) also collaborates on the event.

The 2018 carnival was cancelled due to financial contraints on the City, but a carnival in 2019 was already being planned.