Notting Hill Carnival faces an uncertain future without “urgent funding” from the government, according to a letter from organisers leaked to the BBC.
Event chair Ian Comfort said the funding (for an unspecified amount) was “essential to safeguarding the future and public safety of this iconic event” in a letter to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, BBC reports. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport will reportedly “respond to the letter in due course”.
Comfort referenced an April report by the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee about carnival’s crowd numbers needing a review “before ‘mass casualty event’ occurs”. “Limited resourcing has restricted the police service’s ability to respond to growing operational pressures,” Mr Comfort wrote, adding the funding would go to “stewarding and crowd management [that] was ‘now essential to allow the police to focus on their primary role of crime prevention and public protection'”, according to the BBC.
Withholding further financial help “risks compromising public safety and jeopardising the future of the carnival”, Comfort wrote. About 7,000 Met police officers, including specialist and local teams were on duty during the 2024 Notting Hill Carnival, with 14,000 shifts scheduled in total, BBC reports.
Notting Hill Carnival’s roots date back to 1959 when Trinidadian civil rights activist Claudia Jones organised London’s first Caribbean carnival at St Pancras Town Hall. She was honoured with an English Heritage blue plaque in 2023.
Take a look at Notting Hill Carnival history in Scottish photographer Peter Anderson’s black and white photozine of the 1983 festival.
Rampage Sound System have been a staple of Notting Hill Carnival for more than three decades. Revisit Olivia Stock’s 2023 interview with founder Mike Anthony.
