Bereaved family and community campaigners have slammed Notting Hill Carnival after it refused to keep the 72 seconds of silence for those who died in Grenfell Tower.
After the fire broke out in the 24-storey building on June 14, 2017, the yearly event has paid tribute to the lives lost with one second of silence for each person killed.
The event, which was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, has returned this year and will potentially attract around two million people.
But instead of the silence, carnival organisers have released a program which states that a group of participants from the Emancipated Run Crew will be wearing green and leading the parade in honour of those who died.
But the pain from that tragic night five years on still feels raw for many bereaved family members and campaigners who say that people “aren’t being listened to.”
Amid the anticipation for celebration and music, they have been left “saddened” by the decision which they believe is “dictating” how people should grieve.
Nina Mendy lost two family members in the Grenfell tragedy and her mother Clarrie Mendy fought for justice as the co-founder of Humanity for Grenfell before she died in 2020.
Clarrie was also an ambassador for the Notting Hill Carnival.
Her daughter Nina said: “I'm one of many and there are people out there that have lost many family members and many family relatives in the fire.
“It's quite sad that they're saying, ‘we will do it this way rather than, ‘how can we help you? Which way in which you want it to be done?’
“This seems to be the case whenever there's anything that involves something to do with Grenfell.
"It’s always a lot of telling people what to do rather than asking them how can we support you find that really difficult actually.
“They should listen to the people that were mostly affected by the fire and to do what they're asking when they want and how they want to remember their loved ones or pay tribute to their loved ones.
“I think I think that's the conversation that should be had rather than dictating when it should be done.”
Campaigner Jacqui Haynes says that the silent tribute needs to “keep going” and that she will fight for it because “you don’t forget Grenfell after five years.”
Jacqui said: “I think for us, it is a very important marker. And because that first year [after Grenfell], it was like, ‘what are we gonna do? Go out there and start dancing? I don't think so.’
She added people who attend don’t necessarily know the history of the area and of carnival, but that members of the community have and always will pay tribute to Grenfell, regardless of the noise.
The Notting Hill Carnival was born out of the fight for racial equality after the race riots and the murder of Kelso Cochrane who was killed in a racist attack in 1959.
On the day of his funeral, hundreds of people, both black and white, gathered outside St Michael and All Angels Church in a united stand against racial injustice
Jacqui said: “It's quite a sacred spot. It was about having that in the early years and so this will be for the sort of really staunch supporters who will [have a moment of silence] because for us five years, you know you don't forget.”
On June 14, 2017, the residential tower in North Kensington caught fire and to this day it is known as one of the UK’s worst modern disasters.
The building's cladding has been blamed for exacerbating the spread of the flames when fire broke out which resulted in killing 72 people.
A public inquiry was launched and campaigners are still fighting for justice five years on.
Community campaigner Jacqui says that fighting for justice is part of the spirit of those who live there.
She said: “Carnival is also something we fought long and hard to keep and is an institution of North Kensington.
"And so [the silence] is a way of keeping both of those hard fights which characterise the area.”
A spokesperson for Notting Hill Carnival said: "We have been speaking with Grenfell United in the months leading up to Notting Hill Carnival about how they would like to remember those who died in the Grenfell fire.
"It was agreed with them that the runners from Emancipated Run Crew would be a fitting tribute."
