Countdown starts for 2013 carnival-• Michael ‘Ion Kid’ Savy wins top prize for carnival song competition |03 December 2012

The countdown for the event, set for February 8-10 next year, was kicked off during a colourful ceremony at the Tequila Boom night club on Friday night. Present for the occasion were the Minister for Tourism and Culture Alain St Ange, Minister for Home Affairs and Transport Joel Morgan, a number of principal secretaries, high government officials, as well as partners and sponsors of the event.

Addressing the guests, the chief executive of the Seychelles Tourism Board (STB) Elsia Grandcourt invited everyone to whole-heartedly take part in the event.

“The carnival is a wonderful statement of cross-border friendship and international goodwill and camaraderie at a moment of great international tension. Perhaps this is the reason it continues to capture the imagination of so many people across the world,” she said.

“It is also a great opportunity for us Seychellois to get involved in and so better understand our tourism industry, which is so important to our economy and prosperity of our nation.”

Minister St Ange said we all must begin to see this carnival as our carnival in much the same way as we see tourism, not some impersonal activity which takes place “somewhere out there”, but as something more personal to each of us, and something which cries out for us to take ownership of and responsibility for.

“I appeal to all Seychellois to take ownership of their carnival 2013 and to make it an even greater success than the ones that went before, so that Seychelles, despite out small size and scheme of things, can once again, for three days, set an example of what goodwill and friendship can achieve in a world increasingly consumed by turmoil,” he said.

There were also various artistic performances for the event, as winners of a song competition organised by the STB received their prizes.

First place was won by Michael ‘Ion Kid’ Savy with Nou Karnaval, followed in second place by Seytoile with Karnaval de Victoria and Daniella Larue with Carnaval aux Seychelles in third place.

All the winners received cash prizes after which Ion Kid and some of the other artists performed their winning songs for the audience.

There were also carnival merchandise – such as caps, T-shirts and other souvenir items – for sale, which were paraded on stage for all to see.