Festival organisers have announced a huge surprise collaboration coming to Glastonbury this year. The festival's late-night party area Block9 will be joining forces with London's Notting Hill Carnival, bringing together two of the biggest events on the world's cultural calendar from June 22-26 this year.
Block9 said they were proud to host such a partnership at the festival. "United by their history, common values and goals, the two come together to bring the cream of west London's carnival culture to the heart of rural Somerset for the first time," they said.
The collaboration will see both organisations presenting carnival processions across the festival site with dancers, Moko Jumbies and masqueraders. The procession will feature a 100% electric carnival float with a sound system booming Caribbean sounds from Notting Hill's finest DJs and selectors.
Read more: Channel 4 Celebrity Gogglebox Star set to appear at Glastonbury after getting new job
Festival-goers can enjoy these sounds post-procession at their home base in Block9 East with the award-winning group The Mangrove Steelband providing the music. Block9 is famed for its 15-year strong reputation as one of the places to be when the main stage music stops, known for its queer scene and promoting underground music.
It splits off into two areas - East, which is home to the immersive IICON arena and will see the carnival collaboration, and West, where you'll find queer nightlife institution NYC Downlow plus its backroom counterpart Meat Rack. The West zone also hosts the Genosys outdoor arena that champions the birth of electronic dance music and its lasting legacy.
New for 2022, and for one year only, Genosys Soundsystem celebrates the vital role of music as a form of political protest and marks the 30th anniversary of Castlemorton - the biggest illegal rave ever held in the UK. Castlemorton resulted in the passing of the original Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, limiting the power of people to protest against government policy.
"Today, that power is further eroded with the new Police and Crime Act which effectively bans music from peaceful protests altogether," Block9 organisers said. Block9 is just one of the dozens of areas at Glastonbury Festival. Croissant Neuf recently announced its lineup for the all-important 2022 return after the festival has seen a three-year hiatus.
Glastonbury Festival is at Worthy Farm from June 22-26, 2022.
