It is Carnival time in the Seychelles and it comes with royalties and beauty queens

Going by the lineup for the fifth Carnival of Carnivals – the Carnaval International de Victoria – there will be spectacular displays coming up at the various carnival events, the official opening, and the main parade juggernaut through the Seychelles’ capital next Saturday.

The hitherto largest number of carnival troups, from the Prinzengarde in Dusseldorf to the wildly-spectacular Notting Hill dames, from groups representing the non-plus-ultra Brazil Carnival to performers from as far as Indonesia and China, some 29 countries are represented this year. This constitutes a record number and is affirmation that indeed the Seychelles carnival has established itself as among the top 5 ranked festivals of its kind in the world in the short space of just 5 years.

Miss World Seychelles this year will be joined by her fellow contestants from Tanzania and the United States, set to dazzle the crowds lining the streets in the center of Victoria come Saturday afternoon when the juggernaut waltzes, sings, and dances its way through the Seychelles capital.

All the troupes and performers, however, will no doubt be dwarfed this year by a Royal Ghanaian delegation, led by His Royal Highness the Asantehene who will, in a highly-symbolic move, bring a total of 52 royals and staff with him – the exact number exiled by the British colonialists in 1896 when they removed a rightful king and supplanted him with dictatorial rule by usurpers and invaders.

The then Ashanti king eventually found a home in the Seychelles and it was only in February this year that for the first time since those fateful days a descendant of the king, HRH Princess Molly Germaine Prempeh, granddaughter of the exiled late King Prempeh I, returned to the Seychelles where she was born 60 years earlier before returning home to Ghana.

It is no doubt a result of the launch of the Seychelles Carnival five years ago that the standing of this Creole archipelago nation across Africa has vastly improved, drawing in recent years delegations from Kwa Zulu Natal, Zimbabwe, and Zambia to the islands where their own profile, simply by rubbing shoulders with the Kings of Carnival in Victoria, reflected positively on their own tourism industries.

Come Friday this week, the carnival festival kicks off on the main island of Mahe at noon in various places – the official opening starts at 1800 hours at the Stade Popiler – and a huge program unfolds for locals and visitors alike, lasting until Sunday evening. The prize-giving and closing ceremony will take place at the Freedom Square and the song “And the Carnival is over” will sound until the same time next year.