Edinburgh Festival Carnival becomes latest event casualty of COVID-19

Edinburgh’s Carnival has been cancelled due to coronavirus, the organisers have confirmed.

Jason Rust, the chair of Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival which co-ordinates the Carnival, said the free event has been cancelled as the responsible thing to do.

He added that alternative options are being looked into when circumstances change.

He said: “The Edinburgh Festival Carnival is not just an exhilarating and fun experience, but an iconic free event which has attracted a mass of support over recent years.

“However, the single most important consideration has to be one of public health and acting responsibly. Our thoughts are with all those residents and their families affected by the pandemic.

“We have decided that the established format of the event will not happen in 2020.

“We will of course miss this truly wondrous spectacle with exotic sounds, music, dance and costume from around the globe, but we are looking at alternative options that we can make ready when circumstances change and will continue to work with and support the carnival sector as best we can."

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