IT WAS smiles all round when Paul Deighton, chief executive of the Olympic and Paralympic Games London organising committee, paid a visit to Luton’s UK Centre for Carnival Arts.
It began with a tour of the St Mary’s Road site and included a performance from 60 pupils who had been learning samba drumming and head dress making.
CEO Paul Anderson invited Mr Deighton to join in an impromptu jamming session on recycled drums created by some of the young people.
The Olympic supremo then met leading Rampage Mas Band artists Colin Spalding and Steven Hoyte before talking to members of the Regional Carnival Archives Network. They explained the objective of the programme was using digital technology to support and capture the legacy for generations to come.
The grand finale was the Carnival Crossroads Project which involves people from across the East of England. It will culminate in the biggest one day carnival in Europe - Luton International Carnival 2012 and the London 2012 Creative Festival to coincide with the 2012 Olympics.
Paul Anderson said: “It was important to demonstrate the role of carnival in relation to Luton and its potential for the London 2012 Games.”