Carnival boost to free city fest

The carnival parade is one of the most popular features. Enlarge Image

A Caribbean-style carnival celebrating resistance to slavery will parade through Cardiff as part of the city's Big Weekend celebrations on Saturday.

A rolling road closure will be in place on St Mary Street from 1200 until 1430 BST to allow the revellers through.

Music stars including the Magic Numbers and Jimmy Cliff will also be playing the three day festival which takes over the city's civic centre from Friday.

The free event, which also features a fairground, may attract 250,000 people.

The year's musical line up has been described as "incredibly strong" by organisers, who said they were pleased to have secured London band the Magic Numbers for the Sunday night headline slot.

They were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2005 for their eponymous debut album and recently recorded She's Leaving Home for BBC Radio 2's 40th anniversary celebration of the Beatles' album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

"The Magic Numbers have been playing just about every festival going this summer but this is the only one they are doing for free," said a Cardiff Festival spokesman.

Big Weekend line up Friday 1830-1930 PeeWee Ellis 2000-2100 Bobby Kray 2130-2230 Soul II Soul soundsystem Saturday 1400-1500 MAS carnival 1500-1600 SW Storm 1700-1745 Los Skarameros 1815-1900 The Soothsayers 1930-2030 Sierra Maestro 2100-2230 Jimmy Cliff Sunday 1330-1400 Gethin Pearson 1420-1450 Colum Regan 1510-1540 Halflight 1605-1650 The Storys 1715-1755 Ben Taylor 1825-1925 Richie Havens 2005-2105 Sandi Thom 2135-2235 Magic Numbers

Headlining on Friday will be double Grammy award winners Soul II Soul, who had hits in the late '80s with Keep on Moving and Back To Life.

On Saturday, actor and reggae singer of classics including The Harder They Come and Many Rivers to Cross, Jimmy Cliff tops the bill.

It will be the first time the annual Cardiff MAS carnival has paraded through the city as part of the Big Weekend celebrations.

The parade leaves from the Canal Path Park in Butetown at 1200 BST on Saturday and will go through Bute Street, The Hayes and onto the City Hall lawn at 1400 BST.

It will feature costumes created at carnival arts workshops run by South Wales Intercultural Community Arts (SWICA).

Councillor Nigel Howells, Cardiff council's executive member for sport, leisure and culture said: "The Big Weekend is a hugely popular event in the summer calendar, and we've made it even more attractive this year by involving the Cardiff MAS Carnival.

"It will bring the great spirit of carnival and the results of a lot of hard work to a much wider audience in the city centre."

No alcohol, glass bottles or cans will be allowed onto the fairground site of the Big Weekend, which has been designated an alcohol free zone.

Bars will be open on site and revellers are urged to bring any soft drinks in plastic bottles only.