2019: Expansion Across Cardiff Bay’s Landmarks
The Butetown Carnival parade dances its way through Cardiff Bay in 2019, passing iconic landmarks like the copper-clad Wales Millennium Centre (left) and the Pierhead Building (right). The move to the waterfront signaled Carnival’s growing presence on the national stage.
By 2019, Butetown Carnival had fully spread its wings, evolving from a neighborhood event into a citywide festival that embraced Cardiff Bay’s most famous landmarks. Having forged partnerships with venues like the Wales Millennium Centre, the Carnival’s footprint expanded beyond Canal Park to include the open plazas around the WMC, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) building, and Mermaid Quay. The 2019 Carnival featured an extended parade route and multiple performance areas, seamlessly blending the historic Tiger Bay community with the modern bayfront. Attendees could follow the Carnival procession from Bute Street in old Butetown all the way to the Senedd steps, enjoying performances at stops along the route . That year saw record participation, with crowds of locals and tourists lining the streets – many encountering Butetown Carnival for the first time thanks to the high-visibility Bay location.
Crucially, this expansion did not dilute the Carnival’s community spirit; instead, it amplified it for a broader audience. Longtime volunteer Catherine McShane-Kouyaté noted that when the Carnival was held only in Canal Park, the audience was mostly the Butetown community, “but since working with the Wales Millennium Centre, there has been more passing trade and it’s become a carnival for everybody.” People from all across Cardiff (and beyond) felt welcomed into the celebration, fulfilling the Carnival’s inclusive ethos. The program in 2019 was richer than ever: two stages ran live music all afternoon featuring genres from reggae to Somali funk to Welsh pop. The Butetown Dragon, a large dragon puppet that had been a Carnival mascot in the ’90s, made a triumphant return, weaving through the parade as drummers and dancers followed . There were also henna tattoo stalls, global food trucks, and community dance performances integrated into the Bay’s tourist area , creating a cultural melting pot for visitors. Additionally, 2019’s Carnival included art installations celebrating Tiger Bay’s heritage, and an expanded “Butetown Mile” fun run which started at the Oval Basin and ended in Loudoun Square, linking past and present geographies. By anchoring itself at Cardiff Bay’s symbolic centers, Butetown Carnival in 2019 sent a message: this multicultural celebration was not just a memory of old Tiger Bay – it was a thriving part of Cardiff’s contemporary identity, taking its rightful place among the capital’s major events. The stage was set for the Carnival’s resilience in the face of new global challenges that would soon arise.
