NOSKing and Queen of the Summer Carnival 2023
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 08:52
Anyone who visits the center of Rotterdam today cannot ignore it, the street parade of the Summer Carnival transforms the city into a tropical music and dance spectacle. The procession of more than 25 carnival groups with floats and about 2500 dancers in colorful costumes attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year.
Behind the scenes, preparations went on for months – often late into the night – sewing the costumes, decorating the floats, the choreography and the music. Everything has been carefully chosen and made and extensively practiced.
Watch an extensive report of the Summer Carnival from 21.16-22.06 tonight on NPO 1, NOS.nl and the NOS app. The most beautiful images pass by and presenter Malou Petter talks to guests. There are also reports about the preparations and about the public along the route. Also check out the three-part YouTube series On the way to the Summer Carnival on NPO 3 TV.
Since the event’s inception in the 1980s, the Summer Carnival has had a Queen, chosen by a jury each year. A King has also been added since last year. This year the honor falls to Orwin Gomes and Sharicia Hasham. During the Royal Elections earlier this month, they were elected King and Queen for the Summer Carnival 2023. As ambassadors for the party, they lead the parade, which starts at 1 p.m. on the Blaak.
According to judge Kimberley Marlin, the King and Queen should be able to carry the carnival together and make everyone feel welcome. “We pay attention to personality during the election, it woweffect and the real carnival spirit.”
‘Carnivalist’s’
Gomes and Hasham consider themselves true ‘carnavalistas’. They both grew up with the carnival in Aruba and they want to express their enthusiasm during the street parade. Hasham came to the Netherlands two years ago as a student and she also works with Ukrainian refugees. “I’m very calm in everyday life,” says Hasham. “But the carnival is everything to me, it’s my life. Then I want to dance all day.”
Gomes, who is a dancer, teacher and model in daily life, will propagate the Aruban culture as King and wants to bring people together. “I want the public to enjoy the cheerfulness, the warmth and the connection that comes with the carnival.”
Watch the video of Sharicia Hasham, who talks about her work with refugees and how she sees her role as Queen:
Sharicia is the Queen of the Summer Carnival
Although the King and Queen both come from Aruba this year, the summer carnival has long ceased to be a purely Caribbean party. The event started as an Antillean carnival in Utrecht in 1982 and 1983. The Summer Carnival then moved to Rotterdam and grew into a multicultural event in which groups with about 25 different cultural backgrounds now participate.
All groups compete for the prize for the best carnival group of 2023. And for that, the appearance mainly counts, says jury member Kimberley Marlin. “Everything from head to toe has to be right in terms of finish. But I think it’s especially important that the participants feel like it, they have to sit comfortably in the group and have an infectious enthusiasm. As a jury member, I also have to be drawn into their atmosphere.”
The parade ends around 7 p.m. on the Coolsingel, but the party isn’t over yet. Until late in the evening you can dance at various stages.
2023-07-29 06:52:28
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