Cowley Road Carnival returns after five years, with planning underway for next year.
The event seen thousands of people take to the streets and planning for next year's carnival has already begun.
Cowley Road carnival returned for the first time in five years yesterday, as it was last seen in 2019 due to the pandemic and to funding issues last year.
This year, the event was back with a bang as thousands of people turned out to the streets in sunshine to watch the colourful precession of dancers and drummers.
The was no shortage of vibrant colours, lively music, with a community united in celebration as Cowle Road Carnival focuses on Oxford's is rich diversity and community spirit.
Cowley Road Works charity has been running the event for more than 20 years, and they aren’t going to be waiting another five years to get the show back on the road.
Roy McEwan is Chairman of Cowley Road Works, he said: “The planning for 2025 begins immediately.
“We know next year that there is going to be double the amount of balance and there’s going to be significant uptick.
“It’s been an absolutely successful carnival and I am so pleased that I’ve done something in some small way to bring Cowley Road Carnival back and it coming back with such an unbelievable force of success.”
The Cowley Road carnival has played a part in bringing the diverse community together across Oxford.
‘It means everything’
Chairman McEwan tells us what he thinks it has meant to the community, he said: “The smiles on people’s faces are one of the things that I really can’t get over, seeing how happy people were.
“A lady introduced herself to me, held onto my arm and stared me straight into my eyes and said, ‘thank you so much for bringing the carnival back’.
“That summed up the gaping hole that she and all of us felt over the past five years.”
The Cowley Road Carnival, is a community-led event celebrating Oxford’s cultural diversity, has been a highlight of the city’s calendar since 1986.
The event has previously featured on the Oxford Edition of monopoly.