Fifth Carnaval International de Victoria - Seychellois people thanked for active involvement |27 April 2015

. Best floats rewarded

The people of Seychelles have been thanked for their active involvement in the fifth Carnaval International de Victoria which was officially closed yesterday evening at the Freedom Square.

President James Michel, who rewarded all best floats in the four categories, congratulated the Seychellois people and international groups from all corners of the world.

“I want to simply say thank you to the Seychellois people and congratulate you. We have had two days full of colour, songs, music and all these represent the Seychellois value. They represent the Seychellois joie de vive,” said President Michel.

President Michel added that the Carnaval International de Victoria is a dream that has become a reality.

He noted that the carnival showed that when the Seychellois people unite, when there is peace and stability in the country, we Seychellois can show the world what we can do and at the same time become the mirror for the world.

Also present at the closing ceremony were Xavier Duval, Deputy Prime Minister of Mauritius and Minister for Tourism, Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange, tourism principal secretary Anne Lafortune, culture principal secretary Benjamine Rose, and Seychelles Tourism Board chief executive Sherin Naiken.

Seychelles Institute of Teacher Education (SITE) won the first prize of R20,000 for best school float, Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) grabbed R35,000 for best local float, La Digue took the prize for the best cultural float and Notting Hill of the United Kingdom won the best international float.

Minister St Ange also thanked the Seychellois people for coming down to Victoria in numbers.
“Without the Seychellois people, there is no carnival,” he said.

He also gave an explanation for the 45-minute delay experienced at the start of Saturday’s carnival, saying it was due to a last minute request by one of the guests of honour.

“We do the carnival for Seychelles, for Seychellois, for Africa, and for the world,” said the minister.
He described the carnival as a platform to show the world what people should do to live in peace.

The minister noted that the Carnaval International de Victoria gets bigger and better every year and that it differentiates itself from other carnivals as people from around the world meet in Seychelles for one carnival.

“The carnival brings the world together to party, to dance, to sing together,” said the minister.

The other prize winners were Seychelles Tourism Academy (second prize of R15,000) and University of Seychelles (third prize of R10,000) in the school category; United Concrete Products (UCPS) (second prize of R25,000) and JJ Spirit (third prize of R15,000) in best local float category; Cambodia (second prize) and Zambia (third prize) in the best cultural float category; Brazil (second prize) and Mauritius  (third prize) in the best international float category.

The accompanying photos were taken by our photographer Patrick Joubert during Saturday’s parade of floats.