A COLOURFUL parade, costumes, dancers, baton-twirlers and crowds lining the streets – you know the drill. The 99th Basildon and Pitsea Carnival should have been taking place this weekend.

But alas, just like pretty much everything else at the moment, Covid-19 has put pay to the annual event which was scheduled to be held this Saturday.

Organisers of the carnival, however, say the parade will be back bigger and better than ever next year, which will also mark the centenary of the first carnival.

The Basildon carnival began in 1958 while the Pitsea Carnival had been around for some time earlier - since 1921.

In 2000, the two carnivals were united and continue to entertain crowds and revellers every July.

Stuart Terson, chairman of Basildon and Pitsea Carnival Association, said: “We would like to thank all our stallholders and entries for being so understanding at this time. We will be back next year on Saturday, July 24, 2021.”

To mark the absence of this year’s event, we’ve unearthed some vintage photos from parades past.

Our gallery shows scenes from the Basildon and Pitsea carnival over the decades. Can you spot yourself in any of the photos?