MALE and female entrants are being urged to come forward and enter this year's Weymouth Carnival royalty competitions.

This year's event will not just feature a Carnival Queen but also a King, Prince and Princess.

The three new roles will help the Queen lead the traditional parade through Weymouth on Wednesday, August 19.

Last year's event saw the traditional Carnival Queen title scrapped in favour of a new Miss Weymouth pageant but this year will see the Carnival Queen title reinstated along with the new roles.

Carnival judges want adults and children to get involved, show off their personality and show why they are the right candidate to represent the town.

This year's Carnival Queen competition will be raising money for and supporting Julia's House.

Entrants for the King and Queen competition must be aged 18 or over, with no upper age limit.

The Prince and Princess competition is open to those aged between 10 and 17 years old.

Stacey Lowry, lead organiser of the competition, said: “We’re looking for community-minded people to represent carnival.

“We’ve added the two male categories this year so that carnival is fair to all genders.

“Weymouth Carnival is working with Julia’s House this year and half the proceeds raised from the competition will be given to the charity, with the other half going to the Weymouth Carnival and Events Club.”

Applications for the competition are open now and people can sign up until Sunday, July 19.

The competition to decide who will be this year's carnival royalty will be held on Sunday, August 2 at the Pavilion.

The competition night will see the contestants gather for a one-to-one interview with the judges to find out what they’ve been doing for Julia’s House in the run up to the event.

There is then a chance for contestants to model and answer questions on stage to let the audience and judges know more about them, before the judges add up the scores and decide on this year’s royalty.

The organisers are working with local businesses for support and prize sponsorship.

Support and prize sponsorship is coming from hairdressers, fashion retailers, beauty salons and others.

The recent Crowdfunder page set up by the Carnival team to raise additional funds for the event managed to raise £560.24 through donations from the public.

People can sign up for the Carnival King and Queen competition by going to weymouthcarnival.co.uk/queen or emailing queen@weymouthcarnival.co.uk.