FESTIVAL fever may be over for another year but organisers of the Cowley Road Carnival are already having to start preparations for next year’s celebrations.

About 45,000 revellers packed out the East Oxford street on Sunday for the annual five-hour festivities.

More than £105,000 was raised to host the annual summer extravaganza but event organisers Cowley Road Works need a final push to hit this year’s £120,000 target.

Executive director of Cowley Road Works Danielle Battigelli said: “I think the great thing was that there did seem to be a real mix of people there of all ages, backgrounds and interests.

“The feedback I had from people is that there was a real sense of goodwill. It was a real showcase of what Oxford is.”

Crowds pouring into the heart of East Oxford last year topped 45,000, making it the biggest carnival to date.

But the unexpected surge in visitors in 2014 meant organisers needed to raise £10,000 more for this year’s carnival to cover extra security needed.

Funds were also needed to pay for event management, road closures, traffic diversions, first aid cover, toilets and street cleaning.

Organisers launched their Quid for Carnival campaign last month, urging festival-goers to donate just £1 to the cause, and volunteers armed with bright yellow donation buckets tried to help hit the fundraising target during the festival.

Ms Batigelli told the Oxford Mail last month plans for next year’s carnival could be scaled back if organisers do not reach their £120,000 target.

She added: “If we don’t have the funding, we can’t do this sort of thing and we don’t have that impact on the day. There isn’t that real sense of a wonderful, exciting event for people to come and see.

“We still need to cover all the running costs for this year and we need to start planning pretty much straight away for next year. We need to know there is money available for that.”

Merrymakers were dazzled by hundreds of performances across the carnival’s nine zones and 16 music sites, which were open between noon and 5pm on Sunday.

About 795 people, representing 34 groups from across the country, paraded along the street wearing bright costumes and holding giant props before finishing at St Mary and St John Church.

Ms Battigelli said: “I thought the procession was fantastic. By the time they landed in the churchyard, some of the groups were still dancing.”

* cowleyroadcarnival.co.uk