Deprived village has high hopes for first carnival
John Fairhall/BBCPeople living in England's most deprived area hope its first ever carnival will bust preconceptions about what it is like to live there.
The event is due to take place on the north-east Essex coastline in Jaywick on 18 July.
The seaside village has held its unwanted title since 2010, even gaining international notoriety when it was used in a pro-Donald Trump advert.
Dannell Dreelan, who has lived there for 20 years, said "everybody is looking forward" to the carnival and to proving the doubters wrong.
People have been invited to gather by the Sunspot business centre from 12:00 BST ahead of the procession beginning two hours later and live music at 15:00.
Dreelan said she and organisers Destiny Hannam and Bobbie-Jean Halls Smith wanted to "show everyone what Jaywick has to offer".
"The one thing the girls want is everybody to see what we've got to offer here," she told Ben Fryer on BBC Essex.
'Amazing place'
People living in the village have been volunteering as marshals, while businesses have also thrown their support behind the carnival.
Dreelan said the community spirit had been "unbelievable".
"Jaywick is an amazing place. I've been here 20 years now and I can't imagine myself living anywhere else," she continued.
Last year, the neighbourhood of Jaywick Sands and the Brooklands Estate was once again ranked as the most deprived in England in the Index of Multiple Deprivation.
In 2024, Tendring District Council adopted a £126m plan to regenerate Jaywick over 20 years.
Although the council will need the government in Westminster to help pay for it.
Sunspot, an affordable shopping centre, opened at a cost of £5.3m in September 2023.
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