VIDEO: Huge turnout for 2024 Ilkley Carnival

Thousands of people enjoyed the Bank Holiday sunshine to watch the 2024 Ilkley Carnival parade which had a theme of Mardi Gras this year.

It was the town's biggest parade, with schools from Addingham, Burley and Askwith taking part for the first time this year.

Chair of Ilkley Carnival Andrew Stacey said: "The parade was spectacular. It was the largest ever and it was great to welcome Burley Oaks, Addingham and Askwith schools to the regular Ilkley-based schools and groups. The best in parade winners, Ashlands Primary School, were exceptional and fully deserved their title. It is humbling to see the whole town turn out and line the streets for the parade each year and it must be a wonderful experience for the children participating.

"On the carnival showground the entertainment was top class. The headline act, Defying Gravity, were certainly one of the most engaging we have ever had and were supported by some amazing local talent.

"There is no event in Ilkley that brings our community together like Ilkley Carnival does. We are proud to say the event is run by the community for the community. The hard-working committee are all amateurs, mostly with full time jobs and lives to fit in around the carnival. As the carnival continues to grow into an event that is now attracting regional appeal so does the time and pressure constraints. We could not do this without the community rallying around us and making Ilkley Carnival one of the top attractions every May Day.

"We had almost 300 volunteers assisting us with what is now a three-day set-up and take down plus duties on the day such as staffing gates and traffic marshalling. Without this community involvement there would be no Ilkley Carnival. A couple of special mentions. We had Charlotte Hatch who not only performed as part of the talented ‘The Lost Embers’ in the SORM acoustic marquee on Monday afternoon but was on site earlier that day at 6.30am for a few hours helping to finalise the site set-up. Similarly, Nic and the amazing Ilkley Gym Club assisted all weekend and still had the energy to perform in the Ilkley BID/Discover Ilkley main arena."

Andrew added: "I’d like to say a huge thank you once again to this year’s main sponsors Ilkley BID, Bradford Grammar School for providing sponsorship for the fifth year and our new sponsors for 2024, SD Property Group.

"So finally, a big thank you to all who made Ilkley Carnival so amazing this year and we’ll see you again on 5 May 2025 for an even bigger one!"

Ilkley MP Robbie Moore, who presented certificates to the parade entrants on stage with Ilkley Town Mayor Karl Milner said: "It was absolutely brilliant to see so many vibrant costumes jam-packed full of colour, glitz and glam  as the Mardi Gras takeover came to Ilkley for a fantastic day of celebration. 

A huge thank you to the hardworking carnival committee and team of volunteers, Ilkley Carnival's brilliant local sponsors, Rombalds Radio and all those involved in helping to make this year's Carnival such a shining success. You have all done our town proud once again!"

Watch the above video report from BBC Look North, or re-live the whole 2024 Ilkley Carnival Parade on our Facebook video below.

Tap here to see our photo gallery of pictures from this year's parade.