Bridgwater Carnival Facts

Bridgwater Carnival is one of the biggest and most exciting event in the Somerset social calendar, here's some interesting facts to explain why.

Fact 1
Distance wise, it is just over 2 miles from the very first entry to the very last entry in the parade, and it will take 2½ hours to pass any one viewing point

Fact 2
In 2010 over 450 official collectors were pounding the Bridgwater streets on carnival night, using 1000 collecting tins. Over half a million coins were collected on the night.

Fact 3
Over the last twenty years, £495,158 has been collected at Bridgwater Carnival and shared between local charities and Bridgwater Carnival. In 2010, the amount of money collected on carnival night fell for the fourth consecutive year with a total of £21,446 raised - down on the record of £30,701 collected in 2006.

Fact 4
600 crowd barriers, 700 road traffic and no waiting cones, over 200 traffic signs and 100 traffic barriers will be set out by six members of the carnival committee in readiness for the 2012 event. The first are laid at 06:30 hours on carnival day, and the last collected at 03:00 hours the following morning. For the procession to take place 33 road closure points will be setup in and around Bridgwater.

Fact 5
73 judges are involved on the evening and have the difficult task of deciding how to award the 53 cups and trophies on offer

Fact 6
In the last 12 years, Gremlins CC have taken the coveted first spot at Bridgwater Carnival on 9 occasions.

Fact 7
Light bulbs were first used at Bridgwater Carnival in 1903.

Fact 8
Bridgwater Carnival is the oldest event of its kind in the United Kingdom. Journalistic records show that the carnival can be traced back to 1847. The first ‘official’ carnival took place in Bridgwater in 1881.

Fact 9
Only eight Bridgwater clubs competed in the 1958 carnival and it seemed as if the diminishing popularity of participating in the event was due to the ever increasing appeal of watching television.

Fact 10
156 entries are taking part in Bridgwater Carnival 2013, including 57 carnival carts.

Fact 11
2011 saw Bridgwater Carnival’s first ever children’s parade. The children's parade features 100 school children from 7 local primary and secondary schools.

Fact 12
Bridgwater is the only place in the world where simultaneous squibbing takes place, and this year over 170 participants will be involved in the squibbing display.

Fact 13
Over 37,000 Bridgwater Carnival 2013 promotional flyers have been distributed throughout the UK.

Fact 14
More than 86,000 people visited the event’s official website (www.bridgwatercarnival.org.uk) over the last 12 months – an annual increase of 12,000 hits.

Fact 15
Social networking has proved extremely popular with Bridgwater Carnival in 2012, and its Facebook group now has 530 members and its Twitter account has 182 followers. We'll obviously be covering the carnival on our Heart West Country Facebook page and via the @HeartWCountry twitter account.