Governor Liyel Imoke has unveiled activities earmarked for Cross River State's 2008 Christmas Festival/Carnival.

Disclosing this at a media presentation at Planet One Entertainment Centre, Lagos, Imoke said the package tagged, 55 Glorious Events, 32 Magical Days and One Breathtaking City, remains the greatest show in Africa, promising that it will outdo the 2007 event which remains the largest in the continent till date.

The governor explained that the celebration with the theme, Sustaining Earth's Treasures Through Our Culture, is appropriate because of the state's desire to preserve its forest, adding that apart, from its history which surpasses that of any other state, the celebration remains the greatest festival and carnival in the country that attracts people from within and outside the country.

On the funding of the one-month long festival/carnival, Imoke disclosed that the 2007 edition gulped one billion naira with the sponsors providing the larger part of the funds, assuring that government intends to increase its counterpart funding this year because of the gains for indigenes.

The governor disclosed that Tinapa Business Resort will commence operations in the next fortnight when its operational frame work will be released by Federal Government and that its take-off is of significance to the business growth of the state as a destination because it is peaceful. He said the business environment in the state is growing and favourable for investment while one of the biggest cement plants in West Africa is to commence operation by the end of the year. Imoke added that Tinapa Hotel will start receiving guests soon as there will be a boom in the state's economy from next year.

The special adviser, governor's office/events management, Mr. Nzan Ogbe, described the celebration as 32 days of fun, icon drama presentation, symposia, sports, award ceremony, showcasing of culture, people and food, pointing out that it will also expose the potentials of Obudu Ranch Resort and Marina Resort as well as the peace and stability of the state. Ogbe observed that the quality of participating artistes and efforts put by the organizer will improve, describing the festival as a national event that has gone beyond Cross River with the sponsors partnering the state as it hosts the world.

He explained that his office recognizes the talents of both local and other artistes and intends to promote and expose them during the festival, stating that the carnival has values to the people of Brazil, Malaysia and Trinidad Tobago. He restated the state's thrust in tourism and urged visitors to take opportunity of what the state has to offer.

The executive secretary, Carnival Commission, Mrs. Elena Osima Dokubo, disclosed that the 2007 carnival created wealth and employment as the 35,000 costumes and their accessories were purchased and sown locally. According to her, food vendors and hawkers sold their goods during the carnival while some Nigerians made money from bed and breakfast.

Dokubo said six states participated in last year's presentation of traditional dancers which also saw the involvement of some communities outside Cross River State. She explained that the introduction of children carnival last year was borne out of the desire for children to develop carnival culture. She said the festival had also keyed into the programme of Mrs. Obioma Imoke, the wife of the governor, in her effort to tackle the problem of abandoned young mothers with no homes, stressing that the addition of a beauty pageant is not only a thing of pride to the state but to the nation.

Dokubo disclosed that the minister of culture from Trinidad and Tobago intends to spend his holiday in Calabar during the festival to have a feel of what it looks like. The event witnessed multi media screening of 2007 Christmas festival and Carnival Calabar and performance by various artistes who had either taken part in the festival before or those that will participate in this year's edition. There was also a dinner in honor of this year's sponsors which included First Bank, Zenith Bank, Oceanic Band and HITV amongst others at Civic Centre, Victoria Island Lagos, where Imoke restated government's determination to ensure this year's festival/carnival is bigger and better than previous editions.

The managing director of SO and U, a high profile advertising company and marketing agent of the festival, Mr. Udeme Ufot, urged sponsors to select the sponsorship role that best suits their corporate image, adding that every package is a winner and well worth the price at which it is being offered. Ufot listed the sponsorship and their incentives to include title sponsor, N500 million, platinum sponsor, N300 million, gold sponsor, N200 million, silver sponsor, N100 million and bronze sponsor, N50 million. He stressed that special sponsor titles such as official banker, official air liner, official drink, official network, official car amongst others, will be accommodated only on first come first served basis.