Kingston Carnival has been cancelled for the second year running amid ongoing concerns about the Covid-19 virus.

The annual carnival sees central Kingston come alive with vibrant processions, dancing and music in late summer.

Yet persistent fears over the possible presence and spread of Covid-19 during the popular event has led organisers to replicate their 2020 decision and cancel the 2021 event.

Announcing the news on Twitter, Kingston Race Equalities Council (KREC), who help organize the carnival, wrote:

"After a long lockdown we hoped to cheer up @rbkingston with a small and exciting @carnivalKT. But the structures in place due to COVID-19 makes it impossible to have a festival. So we are forced to cancel Carnival 2021."

Adding: "We Will be back. Preparations for 2022 will start straightaway".

The decision mirrors that of the organisers of the much larger Notting Hill Carnival, who decided to cancel this year's event again related to concerns over the spread of Covid-19.

A statement published earlier this year on the carnival echoed the concern and disappointment evident among the organisers of its smaller sister in Kingston:

"After lengthy consultations with our strategic partners, our Advisory Council and individual participating bands and sound systems, the board of Notting Hill Carnival Ltd, the organising body of Notting Hill Carnival, has decided that this year's Carnival will not be on the streets due to the ongoing uncertainty and risk COVID-19 poses.

"This has been an incredibly difficult decision to make. Everyone involved in the event desperately wants a return to the road where Carnival belongs but safety has to come first and with the latest cautious announcement on the government’s ‘roadmap’, this is the only way to ensure that."