The decision by some Carnival bands to opt out of parading along the route in East Port of Spain, commonly known as ‘Behind the Bridge’, is being criticised by the Uptown Carnival Improvement Committee.
However, the Committee says it is taking proactive steps to restore the route’s appeal and will be unveiling a series of new initiatives aimed at attracting both masqueraders and spectators back to the area.
President of the Uptown Carnival Improvement Committee, Dr Vijay Ramlal-Rai, says despite the historical significance of mas ‘Behind the Bridge’, the area has not been receiving the recognition it deserves, with many Carnival bands opting to exclude it from their Carnival parade routes.
“That’s the birthplace of Trinidad’s Carnival, and I wish to debate any single person, bandleader or otherwise, who would dare to tell us why they don’t like passing there. That’s the excuse. You know they don’t like passing there, but we have over a hundred and something bands pass there every Carnival.”
Deputy Chairman of the National Carnival Commission and Chairman of the Regional Carnival Committee, Kevan Gibbs, said the problem is not new.
He proposed attractive initiatives to reclaim patrons, citing the success of the Flava Village.
“What we need to do is to create something ‘behind the bridge’ that makes them come back. What we did here this Carnival gone, with what Mark and I and the rest of the Board at the NCC just discussed this afternoon, was to change the outlook of what’s happening at the Savannah so that it becomes a Carnival City.”
President of the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Bands Association, Mark Ayen, also committed to working with the Committee moving forward.
Also lending advice to its members was Executive President of the Trinidad and Tobago Copyright Collection Organisation (TTCO), Asten Isaac, who highlighted the importance of protecting creative content and artwork.
“Your creative content, your mas production, your costumes, your designs, your images, in the age of AI, also need to be protected, so there has to be a unified voice, a unified position, from the committee establishing what are the rules as it relates to the use of your artwork.”
The Carnival stakeholders were speaking at the 2026 Prize Distribution Ceremony on Tuesday evening, where 85 bands were awarded for their presentations during Carnival 2026.
Awards were distributed in a range of categories, among them the Junior Parade of the Bands, J’Ouvert Bomb, Senior Kings and Queens of Carnival, and Band of the Year.