As over two million people prepare for Notting Hill Carnival, chief executive Matthew Phillip has criticized intense security scrutiny on the event. With 7,000 police officers deployed and hundreds banned under bail conditions, organizers argue the celebration is unfairly targeted as a cause of crime.
Security Deployments and Pre-Event Seizures Ahead of the Parade
Ahead of this year’s celebrations, the Met Police announced that more than 7,000 officers will be deployed across the event. Authorities have banned more than 330 people from attending as part of bail conditions, while officers have seized 76 zombie knives, 30 flick knives, and a machete, according to reporting by the BBC. Police stated that officers would relentlessly pursue the small minority who come intending to do harm.
In a coordinated operation on Wednesday, the Met Police worked alongside Greater Manchester Police to arrest seven people suspected of belonging to a gang that targets music festivals and events. Intelligence indicated that the group had previously targeted the carnival and may have planned to do so again.
Organizers Defend the Event Against Violence Claims
Following a last year’s event that saw more than 500 arrests—primarily for drug offenses, possession of offensive weapons, sexual assault, and violence—organizers have pushed back against the narrative surrounding the street party. Matthew Phillip, the chief executive of Notting Hill Carnival, argued that it was unfair that Carnival is always targeted as a cause of violence, adding: It is a victim of crime rather than a perpetrator.
To bolster safety measures from within the community, more than 3,000 stewards will be on duty during the celebrations, marking double the usual number deployed.
History and Economic Impact
The current debates unfold as the event marks its milestone history. In 1966, Carnival moved outdoors, with what is widely accepted as the first Notting Hill Carnival. Community activist Rhaune Laslett organised a multicultural street festival to bring together the neighbourhood’s different communities. She invited Trinidadian steel pan player Russell Henderson and his band, and, when they began walking through the streets, people followed, emulating Trinidad and Tobago’s carnival. It was spontaneous, communal and loud – which, as it turned out, was a fairly good blueprint for the next six decades.
The ingredients were West Indian to the bone, and they became something distinctly London. Trinidadian masquerade traditions brought elaborate costumes and bands – inspired by the attire in Trinidad’s pre-Lenten festivities; calypso supplied its wit and social commentary; later, soca brought a faster pulse. Steel pan – the Trinidadian invention developed after African drumming was banned under British colonial rule – remained at the heart of the sound. By the 1970s, sound systems had joined the procession, spearheaded by Leslie Palmer, the then-director of the carnival.
Today, over two million people attend Notting Hill Carnival each year, with the celebrations contributing nearly £400 million to the country’s economy. Sixty years on, the roots of the carnival are strong, but sometimes overshadowed by being Europe’s biggest street party
. The feathers are brighter, the sound systems louder, the warm up parties are longer and the crowds larger.
Warm-Ups and Afterparties Across London
You may think that three full days of partying on the streets of W11 for Notting Hill Carnival is plenty. But really, those celebrations only scratch the surface. DJs will be limbering up at various clubs and bars in the nights running up to the main event, bringing roots, reggae, house, drum ’n’ bass, drill to get you in the mood. And while all of the sound systems at Carnival switch off at 7pm every day, the dancing certainly doesn’t stop. There will be a swathe of afterparties happening across west London and elsewhere in the city keeping the tunes going, the liquor flowing and the momentum nice and high.
The best Notting Hill Carnival warm-up parties feature events such as the Channel One Sound System Carnival Warm Up at Village Underground on Aug 28 from £24.81, bringing dubplate classics, new releases, steppas, and pure roots and culture music. Afroheat London hosts a Carnival Weekend on Aug 28 at Brixton Jamm from £11.30 featuring headliner Afro B (the Afrobeats artist behind the worldwide anthem ‘Drogba (Joanna)’) alongside LaRizzle, P Montana and DJ Larni. Peckham’s Tola hosts For The Dancers – Carnival Warmup Party & Social on Aug 28 from £9.18, starting outdoors on the roof terrace with 100 free Happy Endings ice creams before moving to the basement with UKG legend Lisa Maffia, DJs Malika Green, Gin + Jay the Stallion. Additionally, Notting Hill Arts Club hosts its annual warm up party on Aug 30 and Aug 31 from £11, led by Rampage Sound playing anything from Bob Marley to classic carnival jungle, Aswad, Amy Winehouse, Calypso and Carnival beats from South America and beyond.
When the main celebrations conclude, afterparties continue across the city. Rampage and Friends will play at UNDR on Aug 30 from £25, located 10 minutes away from the Rampage sound system. Piehouse Co-Op in Lewisham hosts a queer afters on Aug 30 from £6.18 led by King Praun, God’s Fave and Q Sermon. My Cuppa Tee takes over the back room of Next Door Records in Shepherd’s Bush on Aug 30 from £23 with their Funktion One sound system. Phonox in Brixton hosts a System Carnival Special on Aug 30 from £15 with a line-up announced on the night. Prince of Peckham hosts Kash & Pharxoh: Carnival Sunday Edition on Aug 30 from £11.30 with BBC 1Xtra’s Kash and Pharaoh playing hip hop, Afrobeats, R&B and funky house. Finally, Hotel Indigo London K West in Shepherd’s Bush welcomes DJ, producer and multi-instrumentalist Blinky Bill on Aug 30, bringing afrobeat, funk and electronic sound to the foyer alongside bespoke rum cocktails crafted by Yinka Ilori, with Notting Hill Arts Club also offering hours more music after Carni on Saturday and Sunday.
Ещё по этой теме
