Carnival Queen/King dropped for new Mini-Mayor titles

There will be no more Carnival Queens or Kings for Welshpool Carnival, which will instead be having a ‘Mini Mayor’ and a ‘Mini Madam Mayor’ from 2027.

No reason has been given for the move, which ends decades of tradition, but the decision was fully backed by Welshpool Town Council’s Events and Planning Committee this week along with several more fresh proposals.

The meeting also confirmed that the 2027 event won’t be returning to a Bank Holiday Monday slot after all, due to the unavailability of Town Council staff, so it will be earmarked for May 30, a Sunday before a Bank Holiday Monday.

Councillors were discussing an update following the latest Carnival Committee Working Group, where the following recommendations were agreed:

- To fix the date of the Annual Carnival day to Sunday, May 30, 2027.

- Instead of a Carnival King/Queen, to ask for nominations for a boy and girl 'Mini Mayor' and to seek nominations for this.

- To investigate the possibility of holding a dog show.

- To begin publicising the event and reaching out to possible stage acts/parade participants.

- To meet again on Monday, November 16 at 6.30pm in the Royal Oak.

Responsibilities were also discussed, most notably seeing the working group take the lead on bringing back a procession through the town, with Cllr Vix Davies saying: “Can’t call it a carnival without a parade!”