Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival won another prestigious award at last night’s Bristol, Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards held at Cadbury House in Congresbury.
The carnival, which has the reputation for being one of the largest illuminated processions in Europe, beat of strong competition to win a coveted gold award in the Tourism Event and Festival of the year category. This recognition comes just months after the carnival took ‘gold’ at the 2015/16 South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
This was the first time the Bristol, Bath and Somerset Tourism Awards had been held, and over 280 guests attended the evening which was presented by BBC Radio Bristol’s Laura Rawlings. There were awards for 20 different tourism categories, and winners had been through a rigorous three stage process examining websites, social media reviews and ‘mystery visits’ before being assessed by a judging panel. All winners were invited onto the stage to be presented with individually crafted awards made by Will Shakspeare, from Shakspeare Glass in Langport.
Malcolm Cattle, president of Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival, was delighted and said: “What a fantastic night and what an amazing achievement. This news tops a remarkable year for Bridgwater Carnival and comes just two weeks before this year’s carnival procession on Saturday 5 November.
“I would like to say a big thank you to the carnival committee, the entrants and to the spectators for making this award possible, and it is great to see Bridgwater Carnival continue to go from strength to strength.”
The Shaun in the City Sculpture trail in Bristol also won a gold award in the same category and both attractions, along with all other winners, will now be fast tracked into the 2017 South West Tourism Excellence Awards.