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No rain on the parade as the
UK's biggest Brazilica Festival took place in Liverpool
Photographs by Patrick Trollope.
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THE Liverpool Carnival Company are
certainly on cloud 9, after their 9th annual Brazilica Festival was hailed a
sizzling success!
Thousands of people came from far and wide to enjoy Liverpool’s International
Samba Festival on Saturday, 16 July 2016.
There was a jubilant carnival atmosphere in the city as crowds lined the streets
to watch the spectacular Brazilica Carnival Parade which made its way from
Abercromby Square, along Hope Street, Hardman Street, Bold Street, and Church
Street, before finishing at the Whitechapel Junction.
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And even the sunshine made an appearance, after weeks of rotten weather, to
ensure there was no rain on the parade!
Over 750 people took part in the incredible Parade from the UK, Brazil, Europe
and even as far as Singapore, filling the streets of Liverpool with colour,
music and a sensational carnival atmosphere.
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There was music and dance from 22 bands including:- Paraiso School of Samba,
Samba Masala, Katumba, Morro 16, Sambafriq, Manchester School of Samba, Pulse of
the Place, Liverpool Samba School, Hull Samba, Oxiris Wirral School of Samba,
Oya Batucada, Karamba Samba and World Wise.
Meanwhile, the dancers dazzled in their glitzy, glamorous carnival outfits; with
more feathers and sequins than you can shake a drumstick at! Not forgetting
appearances from dancing horned devils and drumming policemen!
The festival fun started on Friday, 15 July 2016, at PanAm Restaurant and Bar.
The heat was on as 9 amazing samba dancers battled it out for samba supremacy in
the ever popular Carnival Queen Competition. Hosted by The Guide’s Ellie
Phillips, there was a fantastic turnout for the event which saw the 2015
Carnival Queen Melinda Adams hand over her crown to Paris Thompson from Paraiso
School of Samba. And Singapore band Samba Masala brought the house down with
their fabulous Brazilian beats.
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This year, Brazilica teamed up with Liverpool BID Company to host the Main
Carnival Day in the City’s Commercial District which was transformed into a
sizzling hotbed of colourful carnival action with a packed programme of live
music all day long.
Around 15-20,000 people headed to the Main Stage in Derby Square to see the
samba dance shows, and listen to Brazilian bands and DJ sets, playing everything
from samba and funk to bossa nova. Crowds were also able to sample a taste of
Brazil at the many food stalls selling Brazilian food, caipirinhas and Brazilian
beer.
And after the parade, the party continued at The Arts Club on Seel Street, home
of Circus and Chibuku, hosted by carnival DJs with live performances from
visiting samba bands.
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The festival came to a climax on Sunday afternoon with samba performances in
Church Street and Clayton Square.
Bill Addy, Chief Executive of Liverpool BID Company and Vice Chairman of
Liverpool’s Visitor Economy Board, said:- "Brazilica is a unique festival
and the injection of colour, sound and vibrancy it brought to the city centre
this weekend was just fantastic. The atmosphere was brilliant and to see so many
people of all ages enjoying themselves was a real thrill. Everyone involved
should be immensely proud. It also showed what a huge asset we have in Derby
Square and we’ll be looking closely at how we continue to use and animate this
vital space."
Maeve Morris, Festival director of Liverpool Carnival Company, was delighted
with the turn out for Brazilica 2016, she said:- "It was amazing to
welcome so many bands and samba schools to Brazilica 2016 who came from across
the UK, Ireland, France, Singapore and Brazil and made Brazilica 2016 a
celebration of colour, music, dance, friendship and happiness! And it was
wonderful to host the Main Stage in Derby Square for the first time with such a
great family atmosphere. Thank you to all the volunteers who have been giving a
hand over the last few days, weeks or months and to all the visitors and the
people of Liverpool for making Brazilica such a joyful event and a huge success
year after year! But the fun isn’t over just yet, you can still sample the
Brazilian culture at the Brazilica fringe events which have been running all
over the City. Award winning wildlife photographer, Joao Marcos Rose, is
exhibiting his incredible images of biodiversity and conservation at St George’s
Hall until Friday, 22 July 2016. Plus, a Brazilian Film Festival runs until
Saturday, 6th August at various locations through the city showing films
celebrating Brazilian life and culture, from biographies and documentaries to
comedy and drama. Most are free to attend. The UK’s largest Samba Carnival
event, Brazilica has become one of the flagship events of the year in
Liverpool’s festival calendar attracting over 60,000 visitors to the City
Centre."
Liverpool Carnival Company are now looking ahead to next year, and have started
to plan Brazilica 2017 with samba bands from France and Spain already asking to
take part. Every year, the company set the bar higher in their efforts to
improve the festival and always succeed in finding ways to bring it back bigger
and better, so get set for another Brazil-iant event in 2017!
To get involved in Brazilica Festival 2016 as a media partner, sponsor or
volunteer or for more information please visit the
website.
Please let us know what you thought on this event, via emailing
us to:-
News24@SouthportReporter.com. More photos in our next edition! To see our photographic coverage of this event, please click on
here
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To see our photographic coverage of this event, please click on
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