Indian Ocean’s Carnaval International de Victoria pushed at WTM in London

Agnes Gerry, “Miss Seychelles…Another World” 2013 was at the World Travel Market (WTM) in London as the cultural ambassador of her country, and she joined in the promotion of the annual carnival that is staged in Seychelles during the last weekend of April.

For the last couple of years the mid-ocean islands of the Seychelles moved its tourism promotion to include culture and in so doing its people. “We know that we have the best as a sun, sea, and sand holiday, but we still felt that these natural attributes we have been blessed with do not stand, and cannot stand, alone anymore. This is whey when we launched the ‘Seychelles Brand of Tourism’ we brought in the promotion of our culture and in so doing our people. Miss Seychelles is part of this cultural drive; she is one of us, and when we say that we are proud of her, then it is our responsibility to show her off to the world,” Alain St.Ange, the Seychelles Minister responsible for Tourism and Culture said in London.

The Indian Ocean has an annual carnival that is staged annually in Seychelles, and next year the set dates are April 25-27. This carnival is listed as an event for the Vanilla islands (the Indian Ocean Organization regrouping the islands of the Seychelles, La Reunion, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, Mayotte, and Maldives), and it remains the only carnival where all the best and most famous carnivals parade together and are followed by cultural troupes from the Community of Nations.

The international press has been covering this carnival, because of the explosion of color it provides, but also because of the diversity of culture displayed at this unique carnival. The press has coined this carnival as the “carnival of carnivals.”

Notting Hill Carnival of London, the Dusseldorf Carnival of Germany, the Brazil Carnival, and Trinidad and Tobago carnival are only some of the world’s top carnivals who descend on Seychelles annually for this carnival of carnivals and they are followed by cultural troupes from some twenty countries.

“This carnival remains a great opportunity for countries to fly their flag as they showcase their culture and their people for the world to see,” said Minister St.Ange of the Seychelles.