Administrative History | Carnival was originally known as University Hospital Carnival. It was organised by a sub-committee of the Guild to raise annual contributions for the General and Queen's Hospitals through various student activities and performances and through the production and sale of Carnival magazine. The Chair of the committee sat on Guild Council and in later years on the Executive. Carnival was held annually for most of the 1930s with the exception of 1934, when Carnival Revue was held, but not the full range of activities. During the Second World War, Carnival was replaced by the Birmingham University Hospital Street Collection, a fund raising event similar to Carnival which began in 1939. Carnival was revived for the 1945-1946 session. With the establishment of the NHS, it was decided that Carnival would fund social services within the city, and to implement this, proceeds would be absorbed into a trust fund to be administered by a standing committee consisting of representatives from the city, university, Birmingham hospitals, and the Guild. Up to the end of the 1950s, Carnival was held in the autumn term. By 1961, it was held in June, after the end of the exams. For the 1969-1970 session Carnival was renamed Festival and was managed by the Charities section of the Guild, which incorporated Community Action, Drama, Internal Arts and Entertainments. The following year, Festival was split into three sections comprising Community Action, Arts Festival and Carnival (Charities) with the aim of bringing Community Action and Charities together. Carnival is still the Guild's main Raising and Giving, RAG event in 2011 |