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All set for 60th anniversary Three Kings' Cavalcade

Every year organising the Three King’s Cavalcade on the feast of the Epiphany, 5 January, gets harder and harder. But as the event turns 60 this year, the Cavalcade Committee have been working behind the scenes to make the event possible. This year seven trailer floats and three walking floats will make up the cavalcade with the traditional bands and participants and of course The Three Kings.

The Three Kings Cavalcade is the first event on Gibraltar’s social calendar after the New Year’s festivities, and is enjoyed by children and adults alike. The Cavalcade had its beginnings in the late 1950s when in 1958 at the start of Radio Gibraltar they initiated the Open Day event solely for the Cavalcade.

Early last year the committee called on local entities as well as sports and cultural bodies, associations, housing estates, schools and even groups of friends to participate in its 60th year. But the response has been minimum and they have been disappointed with the lack of support.

President of the Cavalcade Committee Eric Abudarham emphasised each time it was more difficult to organise the event because of “complacency and the lack of people getting involved especially over a difficult Christmas period. So the result is let others do it and I’ll watch it.”

Mr Abudarham explains how in the past big organisations used to take part and they themselves had covered areas, man power and materials.

“Nowadays it is difficult if not impossible to find covered areas and people are not prepared to build floats in the open air. Another factor are the trailers. There are few in number although we are grateful to those transport companies who assist,” he says.

But aside from lack of local support, the few trailers and no covered areas to build the floats, this year the Committee has also faced the issue of having to repair the Three King’s floats and have had to hire a tent in order to fix the floats which had been stored in a tunnel and had been ruined. the committee have also faced other issues.

Mr Abudarham said around £4,000 to £5,000 had been spent in organising a covered area to repair them and get them ready for the day. This has also meant bringing them down from the tunnel they had been stored, new materials and the labour to repair them and then taking them back to storage.

“The reason we have had to spent so much money is because we have had to store the floats in a tunnel and although they were covered they have been under severe damp conditions, hence metal parts were rusty and the timbers had deteriorated in some areas. We need some reasonable covered area so as to prevent this in future,” he insisted.

Mr believes it is imperative that as a community we help make this 60 anniversary cavalcade a memorable one and urges everyone to support the event and those participating and line up along Main Street.

The Three King’s Cavalcade will take place this Thursday 5 January starting at 7.30pm from Casemates.

The Gibraltar Cultural Services staff will be responsible for handing sweets out to children and persons lining up the route of the Cavalcade.

 

 

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