Portal:Nigeria/Selected article/17

The Carniriv (English: Car-nee-rev) is an annual festival held in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The Carnival starts a few weeks before Christmas, and lasts seven days. During this time, several ceremonial events are held; most of which have some cultural and/or sacred significance.

The Port Harcourt Carnival bears a certain uniqueness as it combines two carnivals: a purely cultural carnival and a contemporary Caribbean-style carnival in one. It also features musical performances from both local and international artists. This gives it an edge over all other regional and continental carnivals, and presents a principal advantage that must be fully exploited.

The Government of Rivers State recognizes Carniriv as its biggest tourism export. With economic interests increasingly identifying tourism as a viable alternative to the fossil fuel economy - especially in these parts - the state government has demonstrated its commitment to developing this carnival into a regionally unrivaled and globally reckoned tourist attraction. Thus, it has always made available the necessary financial backing for the event each year, and has also worked hard through the Rivers State Tourism Development Agency and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to ensure that it is held.