1. 2020 is the 415^th anniversary of The Gunpowder Plot.
2. Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival has been officially filmed every year since 1982. During those 38 years, 3098 separate entries have taken part in Bridgwater Carnival with 1,816 being mounted entries (carnival carts) and 1,268 walking entries. Collectively these entries would have taken a total of 5 hours to pass any one viewing point.
3. Between 1982 and 2019, £835,396 has been collected at Bridgwater Carnival and shared between the official Bridgwater Carnival charity and its chosen charities.
4. Since Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival was first filmed back in November 1982, there have been 869 number one songs in the UK music singles charts. The country has also had 7 Prime Minsters during that time – Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, David Cameron, Theresa May & Boris Johnson.
5. The carnival committee have had 14 different presidents since 1982: Clifford Jarvis, Stan Bown, Bill Holland, Ken Parsons, Bill Biffen, Denis Cavill, Dave Patten, Les Criddle, Chris Hocking, Doug Robson, Pete Bastin, Rita Jones, Malcolm Cattle, Mike Crocker. Mike Crocker is the 25^th known president in the popular carnival’s long and esteemed history.
6. In 1991, Gremlins CC started their record breaking run of 24 wins in the last 29
7. 2020 sees a number of carnival clubs celebrating big anniversaries. Congratulations to British Flag CC, Marketeers CC and Westonzoyland CC who are celebrating 70 years, 60 years and 60 years in carnival respectively.
8. 12,985 people like the official Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Facebook page.
9. 5,265 people follow Bridgwater Carnival’s official Twitter account.
10. Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival launched its very own e-newsletter in 2019 – ‘The Bridgwater Squib’ – to supplement Bridgwater Carnival’s online digital presence on Facebook and Twitter. Since then, this free monthly e-newsletter has proved extremely popular and now has 791 subscribers from all over the UK. The e-newsletter is kindly sponsored by Symphotec and if you would like copies sent to you simply visit the home page or email Dave Stokes.
11. In the last 12months, our official website (bridgwatercarnival.org.uk), has received 111,983 hits viewing 261,658 pages, including 10,839 from computer users living in America, 204 from France, 190 from Germany, 178 from Spain, 172 Australia, 167 from Ireland and 2,106 from other countries including one from Fiji. During the carnival weekend (Friday – Sunday) back in 2019, 38,448 users visited the website, 21,850 of which were on carnival day.
12. Various research projects and studies have concluded that Bridgwater Carnival is worth an estimated £4,000,000 annually to the local economy – £2,000,000 during the weekend of the carnival and a further £2,000,000 from carnival related activities throughout the year.
13. The first physical person to portray Guy Fawkes at Bridgwater Carnival was Joseph Spriggs who led the parade in 1896 on the Guy Fawkes cart, a tradition which survives to this very day. Since then archives show only 12 other people have had the honour of portraying this notorious character.
14. 2020 sees the 15^th anniversary of the formal unveiling of the carnival squibber statue in the centre of Bridgwater. Watching over the High Street as people go about their daily lives, the statue has become synonymous with carnival lovers from all over the world.
15. 24 giant colourful carnival masks are now on display in retail outlets around the town of Bridgwater. These have all been decorated by children from 17 local schools and nurseries, and the chosen theme is simply “Thank You” in recognition and honour of the key workers who continue to work tirelessly in the COVID-19 Pandemic.
16. After years of informal annual celebrations, the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival Committee was formed in 1881 containing just 15 people, and held the first ‘official’ carnival on Monday 7 November. Nowadays the committee boasts over 75
17. Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival has reason to celebrate in 2020 after clocking up 10 years at the carnival centre. Located at the former Sedgemoor District Council’s cash office at Bridgwater town hall, people from all over the country have visited to purchase official carnival merchandise and to see the vast array of carnival photographs, costumes, and other memorabilia on permanent display.
18. Viewers from 133 different countries watched last year’s Bridgwater Carnival live stream on the internet.
19. Official Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival calendars were first printed and sold as souvenirs in 1974, meaning the 2021 calendar will be the 47^th commissioned and published.
20. It is estimated over 2,000 people, also known as carnivalites, are involved every year with the organisation and staging of Bridgwater Carnival, all who generously give their time freely.