THIS year’s Monmouth Carnival is set to be one of the biggest ever, according to organisers.

The carnival is part of a nine-day festival in the town and features a procession of vintage cars and motorbikes as well as floats, walking entrants, modified cars and a motorbike display team, In addition to the parade, organisers have launched a new event for this year in the form of a chariot race.

Entrants and their home-made chariots can still enter the event, which is set to go ahead on the town’s Chippenham Fields and has already attracted a number of entrants. Organisers are still appealing for local people to get involved. Committee member Steph Jenkins said: “This carnival is set to be the biggest, the most exciting and the most diverse in recent years.

“However, if we want to succeed in giving Monmouth the celebration it deserves, we need the public’s support in the carnival to increase.” Samuel Perry, who is involved in the carnival, said: “We are still encouraging locally based donations. Without sufficient funds neither the festival nor the carnival can reach its potential. In these grim financial times we want to Monmouth to be a beacon of prosperity to the rest of the country.”

The annual Kymin Dash race, which takes place on the same day, has been cancelled because organisers say the expense of providing safety marshalls along the route has increased and they have been unable to find sponsorship to cover the cost.

Monmouth’s carnival takes place in the town on July 31 and is part of the 29th Monmouth Festival which features a line-up of acts including Goldie Lookin’ Chain and Mungo Jerry.