Partner Article

Tyneside welcomes New Year carnival

NEWCASTLE CITY council and NGI have organised a New Year’s Eve Winter Carnival starting at 2.30pm on 31 December in Newcastle City Centre.

Up to 10,000 spectators are expected to attend the celebration as the city is transformed into a festival extravaganza.

Carol Bell, Head of Culture & Major Events at NewcastleGateshead Initiative said: “The New Year’s Eve Winter Carnival is a fantastic event for all the family to enjoy.

“With performances taking place from 2.30pm, there’s plenty of opportunity to watch home-grown community talent perform alongside professional artists and gaze at the breath-taking floats including Newcastle’s majestic Ice Queen.

“The early evening firework display at Newcastle Civic Centre will be an explosive way to welcome 2011 and were expecting up to 10,000 spectators across the day.”

The chilly winter eve will be brought to life by the warmth of the festival atmosphere and traditional North East celebrations infused with a twist of carnival magic.

The Newcastle Ice Queen will lead the parade, accompanied by a whole host of mischievous characters from cheeky monkeys to scary skeletons as she glides through the night.

300 local community performers will take part in the event, as floats, musicians and dancers parade through the city centre wearing costumes and performing dance routines that will have spectators swaying along to the steel pan beat.

The evening culminates in a traditional early evening firework display at Newcastle Civic Centre at 6pm.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .