The Cross River Government has introduced online voting and digital streaming as part of efforts to deepen public participation in the Calabar Carnival.

Chairman of the Carnival Calabar Commission, Gabe Onah, disclosed this on the sidelines of the 22nd Akwaaba African Travel Market on Wednesday in Lagos.

Mr Onah said the new system would allow the public to participate more directly in choosing the winning carnival band.

He also said that Nigerians and Africans would also be encouraged to register as members of Carnival bands, similar to supporters of football clubs.

He added that digital streaming and online voting were deliberately introduced into Akwaaba this year. 

“We are encouraging Nigerians, Africa, to register to become members of carnival bands organically, like we register for premiership clubs,” he said.

He added that the initiative would complement the existing artistic scoring system used by adjudicators from different professional backgrounds.

He further said that the public voting would introduce another dimension to the competition, allowing spectators to support their preferred bands.

”We now want the public to have a say, like the Big Brother framework,” he said.

Mr Onah also said that the activities, including other carnival-related competitions, would be gamified.

He explained that the new approach was expected to support revenue generation, emphasising that the bottom line was the IGR receipt.

He called for stronger public and private funding, including crowdfunding, to strengthen the sector beyond government support and ensure sustainability.

“We should experience more public and private sector funding as well as people’s funding, like crowdfunding,” he said.

He also called for greater collaboration among tourism stakeholders, adding that the sector should focus more on cooperation rather than competition.

Mr Onah appreciated Akwaaba for promoting the festival over the years, adding that the carnival’s international dimension was also being pursued, following offers received after previous Akwaaba engagements.

He stated that the commission would soon unveil its international headline artiste, adding that the announcement was already being worked on.

He commiserated with the state government and the media, particularly in the tourism sector, on the death of Ojoi Ekpenyong.

He said Mr Ekpenyong contributed significantly to the Carnival Calabar and helped reintroduce its cultural presentation, which attracted international admiration.

Mr Ekpenyong was the managing director of the Cross River State Tourism Bureau until his passing on June 24.

(NAN)